Robin the Tech

Yes, I do have issues with the taxation in the UK and how its spent As a US citizen you are blissfully unaware of how frustrating it is to be almostout of motoring. Ous fuel is nearly £5 per gallon ($8) of which 88% goes to tax!!! The sad thing is that all this revenue is not ploughed back into improving the road system- it just goes into the treasury coffers. Also, you have a system whereby you have to pay to use the registration plate on the vehicle. My distant cousin in Oregon paid $70 for 2 years- we pay circa £160 ($240) per year for the same privaledge. Again little of it goes to improving roads- in fact the obsession is to reduce the speed to a crawling pace- in fact we'll soon have a man walking in front of us with a flag. What adds salt to the wound is that the uk is one of the safest places to drive in the world anyway!!!
I know the grass is'nt always greener on the other side but I'm prejudiced against just because I am British- I can't even take my chances in the diverity lottery - which we should be able to according to the many comments on this forum page because we're SO different...apparently.

NC Penguin

I think you should stop dwelling on the Diversity Lottery. You, yourself believe that the US and UK have simliarities. Any similarities that existed between the two nations occurred because of the huge influx of Brits in the first place (pre-20thC). Hence the Diversity Lottery which we Brits (except N. Ireland) are excluded.

Why don't you focus on your merits as an eligible candiate to emigrate for employment reasons? Now is probably not the best time to start this but with any kind of immigration, do your research before you begin to prepare you and your family for changes and adaptation.




NC Penguin

Ranjini

Nah! It just comes out that way when you get to replying some of the imbeciles that come on here with their "asides".
Pity about the DV lottery though. I was just being facetious....

Patrick

And what does your cousin pay in property tax for the car or tolls on the road. If they don't hit you with one thing they hit you with another. We pay property tax on cars, boats and house. VAT on everything we buy and also have income tax. On top of that we have to pay health insurance (this is NC its different from state to state).

And don't think its going to get better, Bush is spending money like there is no tomorrow (and the way he is going there won't be) and someone has to pay for that so we are expecting federal taxes to rise soon.

You have a very distorted view of america - just because gas is cheap does not make it the promised land. Please grow up and look at the whole picture. Jumping up and down and shouting "its not fair!" is not what we want to hear!

Patrick

Ranjini

Well, let's put it this way. This is not the best time to be moving to the US. Once we have Bush and the Republicans out of office things will turn around. Right now it's scary. The stock market is down so that the stocks we have are worth only a fraction of what they were worth before. Our IRA is practically non-existant right now. People consider themselves lucky to have any kind of work at all. It's bad.
But things will turn around. They always do. But I can understand where Patrick is coming from. He need a job and he needs one NOW....

MrsLondon

You said yourself one good thing about the UK- o
"one of the safest places to drive..." Yes, we have a tough driving test so you are less likely to have someone crash into you!

NC Penguin

Ranjini,

I think you'd better explain what you mean by IRA. You say IRA to a Brit or Irish person and it means terrorism!




NC Penguin

Ranjini

oops!! You're right IRA = Individual Retirement Account.

doctor scrumpy

But just like the other ira, most of the funding comes from USC !

aramintaalice

Off the subject again I know but the REALLY annoying thing about the cost of fuel is that 88% is tax on which we pay 17% vat - so in effect we are being taxed on tax!

Patrick

You don't pay VAT on stuff that has excise duty on it - so you don't pay VAT on beer, wine, spirits or petrol!

aramintaalice

But......my petrol receipts always show vat.

mark19964

Got me thinking on that one now - hold on I'll go and check my reciepts - will be back later with answer

regards - Mark

kazzuk

There is vat on petrol. I know this, as when in the UK I worked as an accountant.

But Im not a boring person really !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ScarlettHill

O GIVE ME A BREAK!!!!

I haven't read all the posts in this thread yet but PLEASE!!!!!

You say 'we Brits' helped the US out. We??? Come ON!!! Were you personally out there doing your bit or are you hoping to ride privileged on the backs of others, who rightly or wrongly risked their lives, and thereby bypass the process people from other countries have to go through? What makes your case more worthy than that of someone from any other country? The fact that you come from a country as silly, at times, as the US when it comes to foreign policy? Hey, it's my country too so I know what I'm talking about. I even voted for Tony.

But my argument is not about politics, it's about how pathetic the OPs argument really is. It's as silly as what happened to me when I was trying to meet my mum at the airport at Easter. A German/Ethiopian friend kindly offered to take me but she didn't know the roads very well. After an hour of circling Dallas and getting precisely nowhere I convinced my friend to pull off the road to where a bunch of workmen were eating their lunch. I went over to ask them directions and as soon as they heard my British accent they practically fell on me, thanking me profusely for all 'I' had 'done out there' for 'the cause'. As if I, by virtue of my place of birth and accent, had had something to do with it all. Not wanting to get into politics (then or now) and being a pragmatist (my mum was, by this time, already waiting at the airport) I swallowed my misgivings, told them self-effacingly 'it was nothing' and got the directions I needed.

I don't think your argument is going to get you more than directions to the nearest airport either!

Regards
-=-
Scarlett
(ducking)