Budget

[Bea Smith]

I honestly can't tell if you are trolling half the time.

 

Taxing the gambling industry any more would be disastrous for the UK.

 

We should be discussing how we can adjust tax to tempt back those bookies that felt the need to go offshore.

 

We don't need any more bookmakers. Just make sure the bets placed with them are taxed at a reasonable rate here, and a much higher rate if they are overseas. Ask your friend Donald Trump.

[For Us All]

I don't think India, Pakistan, Afghanistan or Nigeria would be on many people's list of 'rich' nations, but your own unique take on things seems to place them there.

 

We can't cut off all aid because some is misused, its often done in collusion with people here, and ideally tha aid should be given as vehicles, food, building projects and NOT cash.

 

Why do you count foreign aid as coming from money this warmongering government borrows, when you would no doubt deny that the useless and unnecessary Trident is being built on hundreds of times more borrowed money ?

 

India are rich,the other three are corrupt.

All parties borrow money for everything,Labour

more than most.

[Bea Smith]

India are rich,the other three are corrupt.

All parties borrow money for everything,Labour

more than most.

 

 

For anyone with any balance reading, India is far from rich and is ranked 133rd in GDP per capita list. So I'm sorry, your flippant unsupported ******** that 'India is rich' is absolute fantasy.

 

I'm not sure if it is worse whether you believe what you write or if you know it is blatently nonsense .

 

from Quora site in a comparion of India v China - China ranks 93 in the list of countries by income below Ecuador, Dominican Republic and Tunisia. India at 133. List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita. 100s of millions of poor exist in both countries.

[Paul6754]

China is No 2 on the list of of number (251) of billionaires in that country, India come in at No 5 with 85 billionaires. Perhaps an argument for fairer wealth distribution in those countries.

[Howjy04]

Surely they go abroad to pay lower wages? Do we need a way of taxing UK bets that are made offshore?

 

We already are going to do Fosse,irrespective of where the company is based,from April.BTW Gordon Brown stopped betting tax ,meaning customers paid no tax.Tax of 15% was introduced on profits of bookmakers.Companies moved to bases in other places to avoid this tax.All U.K. and offshore betting(including online)

is subject to profits tax,or will be I should say.

[Howjy04]

What an arrogant post - are you an expert in the effects of tax rates on employment ? There used to be a betting tax before, and it is needed again.

 

Any fool can reply and say 'You don't know what you are talking about' - convince me with an argument and both I and others might listen, but somehow your sort never have logic to back up bluster and rhetoric.

 

Customers don't pay tax.Bookies pay tax on profits Bea.

[cheshirevaliant]

Based on a very small sample size (a week in Calcutta watching the Test match), I think India's issue is the huge disparity in the wealth of its citizens, rather than not having any wealth per se.

[For Us All]

China is No 2 on the list of of number (251) of billionaires in that country, India come in at No 5 with 85 billionaires. Perhaps an argument for fairer wealth distribution in those countries.

 

Exactly,we shouldn't be giving our money to a country that can afford to have a space programme.We've got our own wealth distribution problems in this country and I'd much rather see it go to the homeless up Hanley.

[Regal Beagle]

We don't need any more bookmakers. Just make sure the bets placed with them are taxed at a reasonable rate here, and a much higher rate if they are overseas. Ask your friend Donald Trump.

 

I make one post simply stating a widely publicised aim of Donald Trump's presidency is to create jobs for poor americans and you attack me like it was the most disgusting post ever.

I find your posts extremely illogical, hypocritical, arrogant and most of the time down right incorrect.

 

Bookmakers based in the UK are taxed in the UK. Why would you then impose a tax on bets when they are already taxed in a different way?

 

Secondly, do you actually know where bet winnings come from? They come from losing bets. So because you are such a stickler for 'fairness' would you say that losing bets should tax deductable?

 

Thirdly, you can't just ignore the FACT that the huge majority of bookmakers have moved offshore BECAUSE OF THE HIGH LEVEL OF TAXATION IN THE UK. So you are either punishing the ones that have stayed here, or saying you don't care if they leave as well.

 

I can see why you have targetting the gambling industry, and it is a good idea until you do 5 seconds of research and realise that you are at best not raising money through a tax increase, and at worse you'd actually significantly damage GDP.

 

What an arrogant post - are you an expert in the effects of tax rates on employment ? There used to be a betting tax before, and it is needed again.

 

Any fool can reply and say 'You don't know what you are talking about' - convince me with an argument and both I and others might listen, but somehow your sort never have logic to back up bluster and rhetoric.

 

Look everyone, if you have a different opinion to Bea Smith you are arrogant. You must be an expert on tax rates and employment.

 

You are a fool for posting an opinion without backing them up. Yet he is allowed to post opinions with nothing at all backing them up but his own misconceptions.

 

He is allowed to windmill in on any topic he likes regardless of whether he knows the first thing about them of course.

[For Us All]

Based on a very small sample size (a week in Calcutta watching the Test match), I think India's issue is the huge disparity in the wealth of its citizens, rather than not having any wealth per se.

 

According to many we have the same problem in this country.Does anybody give us foreign aid?

[cheshirevaliant]

According to many we have the same problem in this country.Does anybody give us foreign aid?

 

Agreed, FUA. It's a tricky balancing act and I'm glad I don't have to come up with the answers.

[Bycarsbill]

The whole budget is typical Tory lies and false promises - Cameron was famous for it. Bunch of twisting maniupulative swindlers.

 

Philip Hammond as Foreign Secretary might have made a passable whelk stall owner, but as Chancellor he is like a dead amoeba.

 

Wow! For you that's almost praise. Can you seriously contemplate the alternative; spend & burn from labour? Is John McDonnell really an alternative chancellor?

 

The budget overall as any competent economist will explain to you was broadly neutral. Although the increase in NIC's has taken the headlines, overall measures are sensible, prudent (oh, perhaps as that was Gordon Brown's favourite word, I shouldn't use it) and helps to pay down the deficit. Most importantly of all IMO is the fact that borowing over this parliament will also drop--absolutely vital if we're not to burden our children and grandchildren with a completely unaffordable debt mountain as Labour inevitably would. Currently our annual debt payments amount to almost £50 billion per annum--as we know from domestic credit cards, debt unpaid soon mounts up and disallows further spending on essentials.

 

Please pull away from your political diatribes and try and take a grown-up objective approach to the economic requirements. Any tax changes will inevitably suit some while not others. Even the NIC increase will benefit more than it punishes!

[philpvfc]

It should have been the easiest budget ever -add a couple of pence on a packet of fags, 5p on a pint of beer and £1 on a bottle of spirits, a sugar tax and a 10 per cent betting tax on winnings only and that would pay for the social care needs, and give £200million or so to Water Aid and other projects to help those most in need.

 

The usual moaners would soon forget about the added fags tax and alcohol rises, and I am not being selfish as I have a football bet but know it is an extravagance and things like that should be the first things to be taxed.

 

Possibly a 50p tax on supermarket plastic bags and a 10p tax on plastic bottles for drinks or anything else would be good, helping to stop the environmental disaster unfolding with these and making people aware of the consequences of their stupidity - and I include myself as I still sometimes forget to re-use them.

 

Glad your not the chancellor. Alcohol did go up and cigarettes went up 35p a packet. We need to reduce the amount we give as foreign aid massively to certain countries.

 

Don't disagree with increasing NI on the self employed but Hammonds reasons were very weak, there has been a massive increase in holiday entitlement, maternity and paternity over the last few years.

 

Overall a reasonable budget, good to see a further £2 billion given to social care which will have a positive effect on the NHS.

[davidatpreston]

Glad your not the chancellor. Alcohol did go up and cigarettes went up 35p a packet. We need to reduce the amount we give as foreign aid massively to certain countries.

 

Don't disagree with increasing NI on the self employed but Hammonds reasons were very weak, there has been a massive increase in holiday entitlement, maternity and paternity over the last few years.

 

Overall a reasonable budget, good to see a further £2 billion given to social care which will have a positive effect on the NHS.

 

 

 

I thought I heard that the alcohol and tobacco increases were only to cover inflation, so not really increases - I may be wrong before anyone bites my head off.

 

How about a 1p tax on each text from mobile phones, that would be an interesting way to raise some urgently needed funds.

[philpvfc]

I thought I heard that the alcohol and tobacco increases were only to cover inflation, so not really increases - I may be wrong before anyone bites my head off.

 

How about a 1p tax on each text from mobile phones, that would be an interesting way to raise some urgently needed funds.

 

Can't speak for alcohol but I work for a tobacco company. A pack of 20 which is now the legal smallest amount have gone up 35p a pack which was inflation plus 2%, also they have based tax on a minimum price of £7.35 for 20 which raises the price slightly of the cheapest packets. RYO tobacco increased slightly more in relation.

These tax rises go under the radar and IMO hits the not so wealthy harder.

IMO tax on tobacco is too high in this country, yes it's an easy way of obtaining tax and doesn't get argued about because of the stigma against smoking, the duty alone raises over £12 billion pounds a year but the problem we have is illegal tobacco which in many cases is a lot more dangerous, none UK duty paid RYO accounts for over 50% smoked in the U.K. And about 22% of cigarettes. This costs the U.K. Government about £10 billion pounds a year in lost revenue. Most the illegal tobacco comes from Eatern Europe and Asia where they smuggle it all through Europe in to the U.K. Because there is a lot more money to be made, the amount of smuggled tobacco in the U.K. And Ireland is far higher than any other European country. I would like to see our tax get closer in line with the rest of Europe if they cannot control and punish those who are smuggling tobacco in.