HBG

Was anyone surprised?

Cut the taxes for the rich, to be paid for by the poor.

And pensioners? Who?

And expats? We'll get the bastards.

(I'm not a socialist).

JLFS

What have the bastards done to the expats to upset you so?

HBG

They're coming after me.

anonimouse

At last a budget that benefits me

steviedeluxe

I personally don't get this insistence that 50p tax is good, and 40p is bad. If someone is earning 100k+ then surely it's enough that they pay 40k, rather than risk them moving elsewhere. Remember, if they earn 200k they will then be paying in the region of 80k (ok not quite that because of the personal allowance, but near enough). I think Labour have come unstuck in the past by appearing to be draconian in hurting those who have the audacity to earn a good whack. I'd like to see more people earning that much, and paying tax at 40%. It's more of concern to the poor that jobs are available and the economy starts to grow again (not sure that the Coalition know how to do this though).

JLFS

Surely they will give an amnesty to all the transgressors.............

HBG

It seems to me that the plight of UK pensioners, both in the UK and Spain is not a topic that interests people. I wonder why?

Is it because we don't like to admit that we're getting older? I know women who have been 49 for ten years and men with wispy pony tails drawing old age pensions.

No wonder the children stick their parents in homes and forget about them, they're an embarrassment when they can't wipe their own arse.

It's a terrible shame. (And it's going to happen to all of us).

jackytoo

The ex-pats are OK if on pension they have got a £5 increase, more than people working have got with all the pay freezes. So the allowance for pensioners has been frozen. makes no difference if you live in Spain as your taxes and allowances are with your chosen country.

HBG

So the pensioners are supposed top be jumping with joy at their £5 a week increase while the rich are getting an increase of £500?

You can't disguise the fact that the Tories are the party for the rich, it has always been thus. It has nothing to do with meritocracy, it's a throw back to the serfdom of the middle ages.

jackytoo

I agree the pension is rubbish, although i understand (if in the UK) a single person can get it topped up with credit to £140 pw.

The conservatives are mainly for the rich. labour looks after the people on benefits, they never improved the pensioners lot either.

Stuck in between are a lot of hard working people who the politicians on either side don't give a toss about.

HBG

What can I say? I'm in total agreement with what you said. I consider myself a liberal or social democrat, but to be honest, it's bollocks as well.

You can't beat the system, I'm a serf just like my forefathers, handing over my bushels of wheat to the tax collectors when they call.

We'll never have a revolution in the UK, our serfdom is embedded in our bones, it's our culture and heritage.

mikelincs

The problem with the tax allowance freeze is that State Pensions are not taxable, those of us who have workplace pension or other pensions are going to get, I hope, the pension increase (it's not certain as my NHS pension has been frozen once), and we will be taxed on that, and my tax bill will go up, and possibly cost me the increase as tax will take it.

amideislas

There have been so many examples in history where lowering tax has increased tax revenue significantly. Say what you will about the "Iron Lady" but taxes were lower, yet tax collections were higher. Same applied for the Reagan presidency in the US. Low tax, but it resulted in a huge tax surplus.

Many people think it's unfair that anyone should make more than us, but like Stevie says, earning 200K and paying 80k of it is far more of a contribution than someone making 40K and paying 10k into the system.

So, for every person making 200K, it takes about 8 people making 1/5 of that amount to equal what that one person making 200K puts into the system - the very system that enables you to pay only 10K.. otherwise, you think the current system is unfair? What if everyone making 200K or more simply left the country? How much would you have to pay then?

For my money, let's have more people making more than 200K per year. Please. Let's have lots and lots of them.

Domino

not quite correct me thinks...
the State Pension is still taxable income http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/pensioners/pe...atepension.htm and the (currently) £107 single persons payment per week = £5564pa. This is balanced against the single persons tax allowance of (over 65) £10,500.
If you receive private pensions on top of that state pension then you will start paying tax on everything over £10,500.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/incometax/personal-allow.htm

jackytoo

50% of pensioners in the UK don't earn enough to pay tax so the frozen allowance makes no difference to them. Can't see how it makes any difference to anyone living in Spain either, the Spanish tax system should be the main concern eg. what is the tax free allowance in Spain for over 65's?