Budget June 2010.

[Fox Fan]

I would have let the banks burn, so we wouldn't have needed the bail out.

:icon_bigg:icon_bigg

The banks that make up 23% of all national tax income?

We would have our begging bowl at the feet of the IMF right now if the banks had 'burned'.

Would that have been preferable to you Dour?

 

[Dour]

:icon_bigg:icon_bigg

The banks that make up 23% of all national tax income?

We would have our begging bowl at the feet of the IMF right now if the banks had 'burned'.

Would that have been preferable to you Dour?

I think you're mixing up some of your figures here. Perhaps you are thinking of the financial institutions (which covers far more than the banks that were under threat) that make up less than a quarter of corporation tax, itself something over a tenth of all tax revenues? Then, yes, I think we could have afforded that at markedly less pain than from this budget.

 

[RHYDAL]

They always have done - mainly because it was

It was global because the government became the lapdogs of the Americans and blindly followed them into wars, financial problems and even podiums choices. The French didn't, and their financial controls have left them well placed, and not minus 300 brave men and women.
It is quite poetic that the country which fought wars to protect their oil supplies rather than seek alternatives is now in the grips of one of the worst oil spills in history. I have little sympathy for them after what happened to my beloved Tenby in 1996 after the Sea Empress ran aground at the Texaco refinery.

 

[Robsdee]

There is NO VAT on food or children's clothes. A fair budget I feel. Council Tax frozen....good, extra £1000 tax free pay........good, some benefits cut..........good, you should never be better off not working. 20% Vat, well you then have a choice, essentials are not VAT rated. Time we all learn't to cut our cloth according to what we have. Surely we all knew that at some point we were all going to pay for the 'Nanny state' policy that has been encouraged over the last years. I'm sick of working to sub some (not all) of the lazy sods that don't work, but seem able to run cars, smoke, drink and have holidays abroad. I know too many people poncing off the state

 

[spionfox]

There is NO VAT on food

Yes there is.

 

[Durham Fox]

The laws governing what foods VAT applies to seem very complex but to egenralise SR VAT only really applies to 'luxury' food items, not staples.

 

[Robsdee]

VAT on hot take way food and eating out, not general food purchases. VAT on chocolate, sweets etc, i.e non essentials, so we have a choice, that I feel is fair. We all need to get real, we are in huge debt and need to reduce it.

 

[Cate Fox]

VAT is charged on bottled water...I wouldnt call that a luxury, especially as tap water tastes rank.

 

[Matt_B]

VAT is charged on bottled water...I wouldnt call that a luxury, especially as tap water tastes rank.

Doesn't taste any different to me?

 

[Cate Fox]

Doesn't taste any different to me?

In my old place it tasted awful, so I've got into the habit of buying bottled stuff. Perhaps I should try tap water again :icon_bigg

 

[Willlow]

In my old place it tasted awful, so I've got into the habit of buying bottled stuff. Perhaps I should try tap water again :icon_bigg

Or buy a water filter, probably cheaper then buying bottled water all the time. :icon_wink

 

[Cate Fox]

Or buy a water filter, probably cheaper then buying bottled water all the time. :icon_wink

Even better idea... :icon_bigg

 

[homer]

VAT is charged on bottled water...I wouldnt call that a luxury

No wonder the country is in such a sodding mess

Bottled water not a luxury FFS :icon_roll

 

[Cate Fox]

No wonder the country is in such a sodding mess

Bottled water not a luxury FFS :icon_roll

:icon_lol: ok... maybe it is then

 

[SJN-Fox]

I think they need to get to grips with the winter fuel allowance payment. Why should this be paid to pensioners living overseas? Yes, I know this is an EU ruling but there must be some way of getting round it.

Why is it paid to people in care homes etc? Their heating is accounted for in their fees. It should be means tested and only paid out to those who need it.

My father in law gets it and uses it to buy his Christmas presents with and to stock up his cupboards so he clearly doesn't need it.

 

[Jeff]

Doesn't taste any different to me?

Tap water tastes different in different parts of the country. I don't like the tap water up here, I need to flavour it with something, but I was in South Wales a couple of weeks ago and the water was fine there.

 

[Robsdee]

There are a lot of stupid allowances. You're right heating allowance is paid to people in residential care, but they too have worked most of their lives & paid NI, my boss is 66, still working and is paid the heating allowance, he feels it's wrong and doesn't want it. why should people earning over 100K receive child benefit, they clearly don't need it? but how do you regulate things like this, the cost of means testing etc would cancel out the savings. There is no perfect solution, but I feel this budget is moving in the right direction. We all need to be aware of needless spending and think before we waste money or any other resources. I am still working at 57 and hope I can for another 10 years. I worked all the time I was a single parent of 2 (no tax credits then) and don't plan to ever take out of the state when I can put in. We must learn to be responsible for ourselves until such time as we can't, then the state will be able to care for us

 

[jb5000]

Yep - about £30 a year

And how much will it have cost the government in admin to work that out?

 

[jb5000]

They were investment banks, not building societies

Funnily enough*, every single building society that demutualised got in to trouble, with ex-building-socs Northern Rock and HBOS getting into the most. They all got so big that we simply couldn't afford to let them go down - RBS had a bigger GDP than the UK at its high point!

The suggested new regulations around keeping them to more managable size, along with the insurance levy, will hopefully keep this from being as a big an issue in the future, but they need to get on to the statute book first.



*Funnily enough only if you didn't have a job or a mortgage with one of these of course.

 

[spionfox]

I don't like the tap water up here, I need to flavour it with something

:icon_eek:

The mind boggles.