Taxes. If you could, legally, pay £300 a month less tax, would you?

[ManxSeagull]

US: Controversially, I actually believe that the tax regime should be based on a sliding scale (as it is) but with an upper cap, so that if you earn over a certain amount, you actually stop paying any tax on it. I also think the tax-free allowance should be raised to remove lots of people from paying any income tax and that the loss in revenue from these two factors should be gathered instead from a higher sales tax (exempting food and certain other goods). Tax consumption rather than effort.

DKM: I'm sure he really doesn't care. I understand he's already incorporated references to it in his current show. Like all embarassing things, the concern comes with not the doing, but the getting caught!

On the Isle of Man we have a tax cap of £120,000 which has enticed numerous high net worth indviduals to relocate to the Island and in some cases relocate their businsses as well. Several of them have built £5-10m+ houses which is good for the local economy.

Other tax details are:

The income tax standard rate for individuals is10%.
The income tax higher rate for individuals remains is 20%.
Income Tax personal allowances unchanged is £9,300 for single persons and £18,600 for married couples.
Additional Personal Allowance for over 65’s is £2,020.
The threshold at which the higher rate for individuals becomes payable is £10,500.

 

[Questions]

So when is Cameron going to comment on the tax affairs of Sir Phillip Green and is it 'morally wrong ' to call them a pair of c unts.

 

[xenophon]

If I could get away with robbing a bank I would

 

[Vegas Seagull]

On the Isle of Man we have a tax cap of £120,000 which has enticed numerous high net worth indviduals to relocate to the Island and in some cases relocate their businsses as well. Several of them have built £5-10m+ houses which is good for the local economy.

Other tax details are:

The income tax standard rate for individuals is10%.
The income tax higher rate for individuals remains is 20%.
Income Tax personal allowances unchanged is £9,300 for single persons and £18,600 for married couples.
Additional Personal Allowance for over 65’s is £2,020.
The threshold at which the higher rate for individuals becomes payable is £10,500.

The upper cap sounds very reasonable, I recall Harry & Milan saying they had paid £5m & £8m tax in their lives so were hardly 'avoiders' as they were falsely accused over many years. On the IoM, on relative levels, it wouldn't have been questionable as they had paid their dues

 

[ManxSeagull]

You have to be a resident though, not sure how Harry or Milan would have got around things unless paid via a company in some way.

 

[folkestonesgull]

It would be interesting to poll people in Greece this question....tax avoidance can only lead to a massive reduction in the role of or the collapse of the nation state. At some point you have to ask are you really paying a lot to live in a society that provides you the means to earn the money and live in safety in the first place.

 

[Dandyman]

Let's rephrase the question. Do you want schools, hospitals, roads, emergency services and all the rest of what goes to make up a functioning society or do you want a wasteland in which the rich buy themselves out of the shit and everyone else wallows in it ?

 

[ferring seagull]

I earn around £18k pa. and pay tax accordingly.

From where I am now, if someone offered me an income of £500K, knowing that I would be substantially better off, I would be absolutely delighted to pay the appropriate tax without recourse to whatever tax avoidance scheme !

 

[Gullys Cats]

oh yes

 

[Lord Bracknell]

I'm seriously thinking I've made a mistake signing up to the tax scheme that I thought would deliver me peace of mind.

All the more so, since I received a letter from HMRC today, telling me that they will claw back the tax I managed to avoid paying last year.

£316, ffs.

Take my advice, NSC. Have nothing to do with this scheme. I now realise I've made a terrible error of judgement.







It's called PAYE, by the way.

 

[el_ciddy]

Let's rephrase the question. Do you want schools, hospitals, roads, emergency services and all the rest of what goes to make up a functioning society or do you want a wasteland in which the rich buy themselves out of the shit and everyone else wallows in it ?

I've never wanted to move to Italy so the former I suppose.

 

[Aadam]

It really isn't that black and white.

When I was an IT contractor, I had a private company which was owned by me, (and my mum), and I was the sole employee.
The company which had contracted for my skills, paid my company, normally through a third party intermediary, (the hated agent).
My company, paid me a "living wage". That is to say, I could cover ALL of my day to day expenses out of the amount of salary I paid myself, including food, fuel, mortgage. Everything.
I paid full personal income tax and NI on that amount of money, which was approximately one third of the amount that my company had as income.
The rest, the other two thirds, built up in the company, until a dividend was due, approximately every 6 months, then the shareholders, Me an my Mum, recieved a dividend on which we paid 20% tax. Legally avoiding higher rate income tax, and National insurance.
(I understand this "loophole" has now been closed by IR35)

No, this loophole as you call it is still open. IR35 is there to stop people that are deemed to be employed the same way as all other employees in the company you're contracting for. Providing you're conducting your business outside of the IR35 rules, you're still okay to pay minimum wage to yourself and receive a dividend for all other monies.

 

[father_and_son]

I earn around £18k pa. and pay tax accordingly.

From where I am now, if someone offered me an income of £500K, knowing that I would be substantially better off, I would be absolutely delighted to pay the appropriate tax without recourse to whatever tax avoidance scheme !

Fair enough... you'd be better off.

But, if you already earned £500k and someone told you that you could, perfectly legally, be better off to the tune of £18k per month, then would you sign up to a scheme to minimise you tax liability??

 

[jakarta]

No, this loophole as you call it is still open. IR35 is there to stop people that are deemed to be employed the same way as all other employees in the company you're contracting for. Providing you're conducting your business outside of the IR35 rules, you're still okay to pay minimum wage to yourself and receive a dividend for all other monies.

Which is what I do, I have progressively reduced my salary as money has built up in my business so I no longer pay top rate tax but remove it as dividend payments.

I don't see any problem with this as I am the only employee of my company and I have personally worked bloody hard to generate that money.

I have to pay both Employers and Employees National Insurance aside from generating about £60K worth of VAT for the Government since I started.

All in all my company has paid around £140K direct to HMRC since January 2008, I think that is quite enough for a one man band.....

 

[Randsta]

The only reason I wouldn't is if I was in the public eye! otherwise I'd do it all day long

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Which is what I do, I have progressively reduced my salary as money has built up in my business so I no longer pay top rate tax but remove it as dividend payments.

I don't see any problem with this as I am the only employee of my company and I have personally worked bloody hard to generate that money.

I have to pay both Employers and Employees National Insurance aside from generating about £60K worth of VAT for the Government since I started.

All in all my company has paid around £140K direct to HMRC since January 2008, I think that is quite enough for a one man band.....

For your sake I hope the tax man sees it this way.

 

[mwrpoole]

Which is what I do, I have progressively reduced my salary as money has built up in my business so I no longer pay top rate tax but remove it as dividend payments.

I don't see any problem with this as I am the only employee of my company and I have personally worked bloody hard to generate that money.

I have to pay both Employers and Employees National Insurance aside from generating about £60K worth of VAT for the Government since I started.

All in all my company has paid around £140K direct to HMRC since January 2008, I think that is quite enough for a one man band.....

All totally legal & above board, in fact you shouldn't pay yourself anything more than the personal allowance amount otherwise you could end up worse off using dividends.

I wonder how many people on here have, or have had, an ISA - which is another government approved tax avoidance scheme.

 

[Aadam]

Which is what I do, I have progressively reduced my salary as money has built up in my business so I no longer pay top rate tax but remove it as dividend payments.

I don't see any problem with this as I am the only employee of my company and I have personally worked bloody hard to generate that money.

I have to pay both Employers and Employees National Insurance aside from generating about £60K worth of VAT for the Government since I started.

All in all my company has paid around £140K direct to HMRC since January 2008, I think that is quite enough for a one man band.....

I know people that paid themselves just below the 20p rate when we had a 10p rate and paid the absolute minimum in taxes.