[Politics] Next Gov: Where will the money come from?

[abc]

Labour will inherit a country with record levels of taxation and collapsed public services combined with ever increasing levels of inequality, a febrile world that is going to demand increasing levels of defence spending, an ageing population and an economy that is still in intensive care. Labour will need a magic money tree but they and we know there isn't one. So where do you suggest they go to get the funds they will need to make a difference?

I will start by suggesting an in depth review of charitable status which enables the paying of zero tax - which of course is 100% correct for many charities, from Cancer research to support for people with disabilities and autism. But should, for example, religious organisations benefit in this way? The Church of England have assets of c.£12 billion ranging from farmland and central London property to massive equity funds. They sell large areas of farmland for housing development annually, earning £ hundreds of millions p.a. They pay no VAT, Income or corporation tax, capital gains tax or tax on dividends. I'm not having a go at religion (I personally have a faith) but I feel that when we, rightly, expect the likes of Amazon or Google to pay their fair share of tax, so should some other wealthy organisations that currently go under the radar. If the C of E (or Church Commissioners to be exact - their investment arm) were subject to a full tax regime then they would contribute c.£1 billion p.a. to the taxpayer.

Where would you like Labour to find more money for the benefit of the country or would you simply seek further cuts to public services and the social care budget?

 

[WATFORD zero]

See if we could join some sort of trading bloc to improve our ability to trade with other countries, help out all our industries that export, cut the costs of imports, help lower our increasing living costs and start increasing our GDP again.

Clear the Asylum backlog, people who are approved can start work and paying taxes (especially in the industries where we are desperately short of staff) and stop paying all the costs associated with maintaining the backlog.

Re open the ability to claim asylum from abroad and process those cases whilst they are still abroad (like we used to) cutting down on all the costs associated with the boat crossings, again getting those approved into work and paying taxes.

I can probably think of loads of others

 

[Stat Brother]

The Conservative Party have had 14 years to get us into the mess.
The Labour Party will be given 14 days to get us out of it.

 

[Tubby Mondays]

I’d reinstate tax on gambling given how many things you can gamble on now.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Labour will inherit a country with record levels of taxation and collapsed public services combined with ever increasing levels of inequality, a febrile world that is going to demand increasing levels of defence spending, an ageing population and an economy that is still in intensive care. Labour will need a magic money tree but they and we know there isn't one. So where do you suggest they go to get the funds they will need to make a difference?

I will start by suggesting an in depth review of charitable status which enables the paying of zero tax - which of course is 100% correct for many charities, from Cancer research to support for people with disabilities and autism. But should, for example, religious organisations benefit in this way? The Church of England have assets of c.£12 billion ranging from farmland and central London property to massive equity funds. They sell large areas of farmland for housing development annually, earning £ hundreds of millions p.a. They pay no VAT, Income or corporation tax, capital gains tax or tax on dividends. I'm not having a go at religion (I personally have a faith) but I feel that when we, rightly, expect the likes of Amazon or Google to pay their fair share of tax, so should some other wealthy organisations that currently go under the radar. If the C of E (or Church Commissioners to be exact - their investment arm) were subject to a full tax regime then they would contribute c.£1 billion p.a. to the taxpayer.

Where would you like Labour to find more money for the benefit of the country or would you simply seek further cuts to public services and the social care budget?

Agree. Anything that is an 'alternative' to state provision such as education, or is a lifestyle choice such as religion, should not get tax breaks.

However I'm not sure this will raise much money.

Some will argue that state spending is a state of mind. Doesn't @BenGarfield suggest the government simply print and spend money and no harm will result?

My prejudice, working in higher education and medical research with feet and fingers across the piece is that the last thing we need is another review of higher education and the NHS, and yet.....we do need change there.

Perhaps removing all the little loopholes that allow certain types to game society for massive personal profit, the grift and corruption of giving massive HMG contracts to friends and family, and an active effort to make the NHS, education, transport and housing 'better' rather than more profitable for friends and family of HMG, may be of some value.

I didn't think the country was f***ed by Broon, and I don't think it is f***ed now. What is important is the direction of travel, and taking care of core business. We have plunged to a level of needless shit-ness now that is hard to fathom. The NHS, the state of the roads, the chucking up of massive housing estates without supporting infrastructure. Avoidable tomfoolery that has been allowed to grow so that friends and family of HMG can turn coin. Nothing that a little time and effort can't fix.

But beware the torrent of negativity that will be blasted at us by the tory opposition aided by their media chums. If we are not all riding around in £60K electric cars, on pristine roads, en route to waiting list-free NHS healthcentres, while booking skiing holidays a week after the general election, it will all be 'See, labour cannot deliver on the promises they didn't make! Boo!'.

Personally, I will feel cheery and engaged if labour get in, not looking around fearfully for the next bit of peevish shitehouse old bollocks that the present load of ****s plans to dish up to salve their wanky core vote. That will be enough for a bit.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

The Conservative Party have had 14 years to get us into the mess.
The Labour Party will be given 14 days to get us out of it.

Exactly what I said, but succinct

 

[Tubby Mondays]

Oh and as Lord Ashcroft is so keen on others paying tax he will obviously be slinging some more in the pot than he historically has.

 

[Me Atome]

Your whole post is about redistribution of wealth.

The only way forward is to grow the economy. Without that we are and will remain in a mess.

 

[zefarelly]

I’d reinstate tax on gambling given how many things you can gamble on now.

I wonder what Liz Truss tax bill would have been having spaffed the entire nations economy on No37.

 

[WATFORD zero]

Your whole post is about redistribution of wealth.

The only way forward is to grow the economy. Without that we are and will remain in a mess.

And my reply was all about growing the economy whilst cutting needless expenditure, absolutely nothing about redistribution of wealth

 

[fly high]

Labour will inherit a country with record levels of taxation and collapsed public services combined with ever increasing levels of inequality, a febrile world that is going to demand increasing levels of defence spending, an ageing population and an economy that is still in intensive care. Labour will need a magic money tree but they and we know there isn't one. So where do you suggest they go to get the funds they will need to make a difference?

I will start by suggesting an in depth review of charitable status which enables the paying of zero tax - which of course is 100% correct for many charities, from Cancer research to support for people with disabilities and autism. But should, for example, religious organisations benefit in this way? The Church of England have assets of c.£12 billion ranging from farmland and central London property to massive equity funds. They sell large areas of farmland for housing development annually, earning £ hundreds of millions p.a. They pay no VAT, Income or corporation tax, capital gains tax or tax on dividends. I'm not having a go at religion (I personally have a faith) but I feel that when we, rightly, expect the likes of Amazon or Google to pay their fair share of tax, so should some other wealthy organisations that currently go under the radar. If the C of E (or Church Commissioners to be exact - their investment arm) were subject to a full tax regime then they would contribute c.£1 billion p.a. to the taxpayer.

Where would you like Labour to find more money for the benefit of the country or would you simply seek further cuts to public services and the social care budget?

On one point you are wrong, charities do pay VAT on goods & services, there are things which are reduced VAT or VAT free but these are generally related to medical stuff & aides for disabled. Generally they can't claim a VAT refund except end of life hospices, air ambulance, search & rescue. I'm sure you wouldn't want the rules to change for these charities.
What does need fixing is the likes of Amazon pay very little corporation tax shifting their profits to low tax countries so they don't pay their fair share.

 

[Comrade Sam]

Labour have made it abundantly clear that that don't intend to raise any money, hence zero promises. The most obvious would be to reverse all of the immoral tax cuts the super rich have been gifted by the Tories. Their wealth has grown astronomically since 2008 whilst everyone else has seen theirs fall or crawl upwards.

 

[Me Atome]

And my reply was all about growing the economy whilst cutting needless expenditure, absolutely nothing about redistribution of wealth

Yes, I read it.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

The Church of England have assets of c.£12 billion ranging from farmland and central London property to massive equity funds. They sell large areas of farmland for housing development annually, earning £ hundreds of millions p.a. They pay no VAT, Income or corporation tax, capital gains tax or tax on dividends.

No - religion should not have charitable status. There is no reason for them to be 'charities'.

As for other income sources :

> Continue the high tax on petro companies - possibly even raise it
> Tax companies on their worldwide profits - Facebook, Amazon etc
> Increase tax on banks - they make BILLIONS - Lloyds Bank for example made £7.3bn pre-tax in 2023. No company needs to make more than a billion a year.
> Increase basic income tax back to 22% and put the higher rate to 45%. BUT increase the personal allowance to £15k.
> No child benefit for those earning over £40k ( jointly ) - tapered from £35k
> Make illegal drugs legal but provided, and taxed, by the government in a similar way to cigarettes and alcohol. Drops crime and provides income.
> Tax anyone that supports Palace 90% of their income - won't bring much in but it would be funny.
> Won't bring much in but remove charitable status for private schools
> Anyone called Henry or Albert gets taxed 75% of their income

* Not all of these suggestions are serious !

 

[Stat Brother]

I guess the Labour government could ask all the Tory ministers who actively bet big against the UK's best interests and won, to share their winnings.

At least then we'd have excellent healthcare, transport and education...



...oh.

 

[portlock seagull]

it’s all immaterial. Governments always find money for things like war, asylum repatriation schemes, high speed rail links and so forth; despite pleading broke prior. It’s all bollocks and not our concern, so really wouldn’t worry about. And even if you are concerned, and here’s the truth, you can do feck all about and they ignore the public that try. Such is the age we now live in. People fought and died for this country, the shame of that is on our political class and establishment who hold us in complete contempt.

 

[bluenitsuj]

Double the tax on alcohol and cigarettes
Tax religious organisations
Cut aid to countries that waste it on space travel, weapons etc like India for example
Unfreeze the tax allowances

 

[beorhthelm]

the obvious place is a rise in income tax. 1p will raise something like £7bn, so 2-3 give gov £14-21bn more to spend. that's sort of amount need to cover all the promises. the second obvious place is higher rate pension relief, it's bonkers we give those earning over 50k 40% rebate into thier pensions, when most wont pay high rates on those pensions. i've seens this is as much as £14bn, so similar to 2p on income tax. capping at 20% will be plenty enough incentive to maintain pension contributions. the third place is flat taxes, to harmonise a simpler system that is less prone to avoidance and evasion.

everything else is tinkering around the edges, claims for piffling amounts that often dont get raised in practice due to optimistic estimates, changes in behaviour or avoidance.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Labour have made it abundantly clear that that don't intend to raise any money, hence zero promises. The most obvious would be to reverse all of the immoral tax cuts the super rich have been gifted by the Tories. Their wealth has grown astronomically since 2008 whilst everyone else has seen theirs fall or crawl upwards.

No they haven't

I do hope you're not like one of my brothers who would rather have a conservative government than vote for a labour party that betrays socialism by not promising to nationalize everything that moves, forcibly repatriate money from the wealthy, boycott Israel, tax private health and education to the point it is no longer viable, etc.

Given the choice between millions of people voting for moderate labour, and my brother voting 'socialist' labour, I'll take the former.

And that's all taking into account that Corbyn was the most popular leader* since records began.

*Of a party that couldn't even beat some of the worst and most craven of tory leaders since records began. He was hugely popular, and yet lost. With a massive turnout. People turned out massively to vote against Corbyn, so that the teeny boppers, students and headbangers who turned out in their droves to vote for him wouldn't win. O, Jeremy Corbyn. O, Jeremy Corbyn. O. Jeremy Corbyn

I want these tories out, and am happy to see a centre left party hoik them out. I'm not going to sit around with my copy of Marxism today, dreaming of an imaginary Socialist Utopia and a plot of land I can call me own, on Fuchal.

 

[LamieRobertson]

Double NI contributions (not employers) from April next year, when I stop paying…..we do tend to vote for things that are good for us or won’t make us materially worse up right? (that’s a debating point)