Does anybody here take the Greens seriously?

[BoldonLad]

In fairness it's an HMRC estimate,.rather than a typically more accurate Magic-8 ball.

This doesn't mean we should not go after the £2Bn from the rich and well informed, but it does poke a bit of a hole in the silver bullet nonsense from the likes of the SNP and the Greens.

Wasn't Ms Reeves also going to mine this source of riches, according to her last two budgets?

 

[briantrumpet]

Wasn't Ms Reeves also going to mine this source of riches, according to her last two budgets?

Well Mamdani's (I assume verifiable) claim that he's got an extra $500mn in tax from rich New Yorkers is unlikely to dissuade her, if she is thinking along those lines.

 

[First Aspect]

Wasn't Ms Reeves also going to mine this source of riches, according to her last two budgets?

Fair point.

 

[BoldonLad]

Well Mamdani's (I assume verifiable) claim that he's got an extra $500mn in tax from rich New Yorkers is unlikely to dissuade her, if she is thinking along those lines.

The last time I looked, the UK is not part of New York

I don't doubt that some tax goes unpaid, but:

1. at best, the figures quoted, even by HMRC are estimates

2. if collecting this unpaid tax (from whichever group(s) ) is simple, why are HMRC not doing it?

 

[briantrumpet]

2. if collecting this unpaid tax (from whichever group(s) ) is simple, why are HMRC not doing it?

Because they've lost so many staff that they haven't got the personnel to chase it, even though they know it's a good return on the wages of HRMC staff. But seems like they've got better things to do 😉

(A similar number went into COVID activities. FTR.)

 

[First Aspect]

I just wish they'd divert someone to answering the phone.

 

[briantrumpet]

I just wish they'd divert someone to answering the phone.

I remember when Self Assessment came in, the helpline was fantastic. Answered quickly, and always quickly found the answer to what I should put in Box 1.18 (or whatever it was) that asked about tax over-or underpaid in previous years, the answer to which I could never find from my Tax Code notifications.

That was in the days when the Exeter tax office was in Exeter... then it moved to Barnstaple... then it moved to goodness knows where... somewhere where they didn't answer the phone, anyway. Must admit that I'm rather glad to have handed MTD stuff over to someone who does such stuff for a living, but I make it easy for them, as everything goes into a shared spreadheet.

 

[First Aspect]

These days it's about a 30 minute hold time, but if you don't like the solution the first person gives you, just call back and get an entirely different one.

(Choose your own emoji for that post)

 

[briantrumpet]

These days it's about a 30 minute hold time, but if you don't like the solution the first person gives you, just call back and get an entirely different one.

(Choose your own emoji for that post)

 

[Rusty Nails]

I remember when Self Assessment came in, the helpline was fantastic. Answered quickly, and always quickly found the answer to what I should put in Box 1.18 (or whatever it was) that asked about tax over-or underpaid in previous years, the answer to which I could never find from my Tax Code notifications.

That was in the days when the Exeter tax office was in Exeter... then it moved to Barnstaple... then it moved to goodness knows where... somewhere where they didn't answer the phone, anyway. Must admit that I'm rather glad to have handed MTD stuff over to someone who does such stuff for a living, but I make it easy for them, as everything goes into a shared spreadheet.

There used to be a large Tax Office near my home in Cardiff. It had an office where you go in and talk to staff about your queries. When I started self-employment almost 30 years ago the staff there helped me a lot. They actually told me the ways I could save tax by paying my wife for the paperwork she used to help me with and also for claiming a share of the bills for the house because I was using a spare bedroom as my office, plus depreciation on my computer and printer.

I doubt that I'd get the same help these days.

 

[First Aspect]

I am afraid I don't know what that means. This is why I don't use them. 🧻

 

[briantrumpet]

I am afraid I don't know what that means. This is why I don't use them. 🧻

I was being silly. Should I have used an emoji to indicate the first emoji was deliberately random? 🤔

Seriously, a very small repertoire can be quite helpful with people who haven't quite worked you out, especially if one has a tangential and straight-faced sense of humour which might be misconstrued.

OTOH, if you like leaving people unsure, and don't mind risking being misconstrued, then emojis can spoil the fun.

 

[Ian H]

The last time I looked, the UK is not part of New York

I don't doubt that some tax goes unpaid, but:

1. at best, the figures quoted, even by HMRC are estimates

2. if collecting this unpaid tax (from whichever group(s) ) is simple, why are HMRC not doing it?

The back pages of Private Eye are a mine of information to answer the last point.

 

[Stevo 666]

In fairness it's an HMRC estimate,.rather than a typically more accurate Magic-8 ball.

This doesn't mean we should not go after the £2Bn from the rich and well informed, but it does poke a bit of a hole in the silver bullet nonsense from the likes of the SNP and the Greens.

It's the best estimate that there. Have a look here for more detail:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/measuring-tax-gaps

 

[briantrumpet]

Rather amusing seeing Labour loyalists criticising Polanski for the fib about voting in the local elections, and the Polanski loyalists defending him by attacking the Labour loyalists. Has very much the vibe of the Corbyn era.

One of the few times I've had vitriolic comments on Bluesky in response to my fairly anodyne political commentary there was when I had the effrontery to suggest that Corbyn wasn't an enthusiastic Remainer: it was like I'd committed blasphemy.