Silliest Tax Ever

[Dr The Singh]

And to think there are people out there rallying to stop cheepe booze being readily available in supermarkets, the miserable feckless feckers.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!! My bum would not be able to take a sober bashing!!!!

[davieG]

I'm going to be paying £6,561 a year in tax. Shit the bed.

My total income, an occupational pension is just over that and I pay tax on it!

[josedob]

Soon it will be a luxury to breath clean air, they will tax that too you know!!

it's already here ..... it's called a carbon tax

[davieG]

it's already here ..... it's called a carbon tax

Wouldn't that be for breathing out?

[Thracian]

A few years ago I ran a DIY shop in Great Glen and we sold pet food to the kids for their rabbits, we never really made a profit at all never mind on the pet food yet still had to collect VAT, admittedly the thresholds gone up since then.

Now when being inspected by the the VAT lady she discovered I'd not been charging VAT on the rabbit food. Upon further discussion I found out that VAT was chargeable for pets but not for breeding them to eat. When questioning how I was supposed to know what it was for she suggested I asked the customers whether they intended to eat the rabbit or not!

We had a few kids leaving the shop crying after that - well not really I just added the VAT on.

VAT a tax on your money that's already been taxed.

VAT is an abomination. It acts as a brake on so many potentially exciting businesses and the potential for employment that all those businesses might provide.

It's as if politicians don't want people to be ambitious and industrious. Which is undoubtedly true of some of them - except where their own welfare is concerned and they do nothing to stiffle that, of course. Quite the opposite.

[Hullfox]

My total income, an occupational pension is just over that and I pay tax on it!

Actually davie, you pay tax on a proportion of it.

Not saying that you should, just being pedantic.

[davieG]

Actually davie, you pay tax on a proportion of it.

Not saying that you should, just being pedantic.

Tis true, what was/is really irksome is that after 45 years of non-stop work because I paid into an occupational pension and then took it early on being made redundant I was not/am not entitled to unemployment benefit and because of my age no one wants to give me a job.

[Webbo]

Like it or not we have to pay tax for the services we all expect. I agree we all pay far too much but I prefer to pay tax on what I spend rather than what I earn.

I know the argument about it being a regressive tax but I think income tax is a disincentive to hard work and enterprise.

[davieG]

Like it or not we have to pay tax for the services we all expect. I agree we all pay far too much but I prefer to pay tax on what I spend rather than what I earn.

I know the argument about it being a regressive tax but I think income tax is a disincentive to hard work and enterprise.

But as it stands the money you spend has already been taxed, I guess if it was just on what you spent the rich/those in the know would find a way of spending it without paying VAT as I'm sure some do already.

[Webbo]

But as it stands the money you spend has already been taxed, I guess if it was just on what you spent the rich/those in the know would find a way of spending it without paying VAT as I'm sure some do already.

One of the reasons it's so popular with govts.(I think most countries have a version of it) is that it's so hard to avoid.

[Guest]

I used to think taxes were great until I started earning money and paying for my own things.

[The People's Hero]

Tis true, what was/is really irksome is that after 45 years of non-stop work because I paid into an occupational pension and then took it early on being made redundant I was not/am not entitled to unemployment benefit and because of my age no one wants to give me a job.

You'd have made a decent tax saving on your income whilst making the contributions though presumably?

Not saying the system is actually fair - but swings and roundabouts.

[davieG]

You'd have made a decent tax saving on your income whilst making the contributions though presumably?

Not saying the system is actually fair - but swings and roundabouts.

Again tis true but it strikes me as a major disincentive to contribute to a pension scheme especially if you can't afford a very good one or they change the rules half way through.

I probably made the mistake of, on advice taking my pension early because when/if I reach 65 it is drastically reduced which was not pointed out to me at the time. So I could have been living off you lot all this time and then had a super pension to boost the state pension.

I don't qualify for Jobseekers allowance but the silly thing is that if I sign on the sick I qualify for £50+ a week sick pay now there's an encouragement to work.

Oh well I don't need that much in life and there's lots worse off than me.

[The People's Hero]

Again tis true but it strikes me as a major disincentive to contribute to a pension scheme especially if you can't afford a very good one or they change the rules half way through.

I probably made the mistake of, on advice taking my pension early because when/if I reach 65 it is drastically reduced which was not pointed out to me at the time. So I could have been living off you lot all this time and then had a super pension to boost the state pension.

I don't qualify for Jobseekers allowance but the silly thing is that if I sign on the sick I qualify for £50+ a week sick pay now there's an encouragement to work.

Oh well I don't need that much in life and there's lots worse off than me.

Absolutely.

I cocked up my own pension when I decided I could make a better job of controlling the investment areas than the experts.

Doh!