Save content
Have you found this content useful? Use the button above to save it to your profile.
AIA

Budget bonanza: Beat the chancellor

by
8th Jun 2010
Save content
Have you found this content useful? Use the button above to save it to your profile.

George Osborne will make his Budget announcement on 22 June, but if you were chancellor what would you do? Share your ideas for a chance to win a top prize.

We don't want to know about cost savings within Whitehall; this is your chance to get creative! Would you cut funding in inner city regeneration to invest in the world's largest moat for your duck house? How about a tax on all those annoying Bluetooth headset users? Perhaps you'd lower the cost of VAT on cider out of protest?

We are running this competition in association with CCH, whose tax books; will cover every legislative change and their potential impact – meaning tax advisors can get on with what is important: fee earning.

Post your policy suggestions below - the funnier the better! All suggestions go into a prize draw to win £250 of Red Letter Days voucher; so get posting!

Terms and conditions apply

Tags:

Replies (20)

Please login or register to join the discussion.

avatar
By User deleted
04th Jun 2010 12:04

Tax and the budget

With an unnecessarily complex tax system, how about:

1.  Income tax - tax capital gains as income, combine all existing reliefs into one, raise the threshold to half the average national wage, equalise the standard rate with corporation tax.

2.  Company tax - a single rate, equal to the standard rate of income tax.

3.  VAT - abolish the zero and reduced rates and have a single rate of 15%.

Thanks (0)
avatar
By User deleted
04th Jun 2010 12:40

Budget

Abolish Class 4 Nics. Reduce VAT registration limit to £10k; Band Vat by t/o. Up to £20k (say)10%; up to 40k 12.5%; up to £60k - 15%  - then full rate. 

 

Thanks (0)
avatar
By sluglet
04th Jun 2010 12:45

Tax Ideas

Some ideas for simplifying tax:

 1. Scrap capital allowances and allow depreciation as shown in the accounts. Obviously there would have to be limits to stop companies say writing off major items of plant over 2-3 years etc. but if reasonable and realistic rates are used then why have a whole separate scheme which writes them off over a different period for tax purposes?

2. Scrap national insurance and put the extra burden onto income tax (whilst retaining some form of Ers contribution). We all know that NI is really just another form of tax so why the pretence? Besides there is a history of chancellors saying that they will not raise income tax only to have them to put up NI instead. Scrapping NI will prevent any future chancellor making sneaky tax rises by just putting it on NI.

3. Restore indexation allowances for all capital gains. It's simple and people understand it. If your asset goes up in line with inflation you've not made anything. If it goes up by more than inflation you've made a profit and there's tax payable on it - simples!

4. Scrap the current airport taxes and taxes on insurance and just charge VAT. Apart from making it simpler it also stops one avenue for bloody Ryanair advertising dirt cheap airfares and then sticking loads of hidden extras on top!

Thanks (0)
avatar
By Orry L Clayton
03rd Jun 2014 13:32

removed

Thanks (0)
avatar
By cymraeg_draig
04th Jun 2010 14:53

Capital Allowances

 Scrap capital allowances and allow all "capital" expenditure to be claimed as revenue expenditure thereby encouraging investment and expansion.

Thanks (0)
avatar
By Gina Dyer
07th Jun 2010 10:21

Make us laugh!

Thanks for all your suggestions so far. Unfortunately they all seem rather serious! Anyone got any funny ones for us? The crazier the better! Keep 'em coming!

Need some ideas to get your creative juices flowing? Check out these amusing examples:

Bring back Toffos (a man's gotta chew what a man's gotta chew) and set the price per pack permanently at 30p.Tax expense claims at 2.5% to "rebuild confidence in the integrity of British Politicians" - or not!!!Tax all banks with a corporation tax rate of 90% and all bank employees with a rate of 90% on bonuses.

 

Thanks (0)
avatar
By User deleted
08th Jun 2010 10:03

Revenue raising opportunity

How much would we make if we privatised Wales?

Thanks (0)
avatar
By Marc Anthony
08th Jun 2010 14:29

Budget Bonanza -Beat the Chancellor

Tax Raising:

(i)Beat The Chancellor- What a good idea!!

(ii)Ex-Politicians Levy: 90% on all earnings in three years post office period or weekly tour of UK in the stocks for same period.

(iii)House of Lords: Impose a joing fee and annual subscription.

Tax Changes:

(i)Reverse Co2 emission taxes ie higher the guzzler lower the tax.Appoint Jeremy Clarkson to implement this and other measures.

(ii)CGT:Amend to a voluntary tax (some might argue it already is!!) Pay what you consider fair.

(iii)PPR:Amend to allow flipping homes with impunity as this will simplify the matter for all MPs'.

Spending:

(i)Challenge Boris Johnson to spend £1billion in three months.If successful repeat indefinitely

(ii)BP shares:Government to invest in BP shares.

(iii)Sport:James Corden and Ricky Tomlinson to have joint responsibility of sports budget.

Incentives:

(i)Bankers Bonus Scheme:Highest bonus to those who lose the most.(Oops!! sorry this is already in place.)

Cuts:

(i)Benefits:Employ the biggest scroungers to revise the system as they obviously know it better than anybody else.

(ii)Public Sector:All employees to be subject to re-interview for their posts with Richard Littlejohn. RJ's decision to be final.

 

 

 

  

Thanks (0)
avatar
By Bazoomer
08th Jun 2010 17:12

Budget suggestions...

A flat 10% rate of tax for all.

 An additional 80% tax for anyone [in no particular order] falling within the following categories: Wearing a moustache, a beard or with excessive sideburnsWearing a tracksuit whilst not engaged in sporting activityAll politiciansAnyone who wears a hat whilst driving a motor vehicleCat ownersCardigan wearersWearing socks with sandalsHaving a double-barrelled surnameAll council employees and consultantsCar clampersOwners of i-padsTweetersBoring farts of any ageAnyone called Jeremy Clarkson, Simon Cowell or Anne RobinsonAnyone who littersMEP’sEveryone entering the UK [yes that includes people returning from holiday, business etc.] It will be free to leave.Footballers and their spouses/partnersAll A-Z listersAnd lastly [for now], anyone who takes themselves or life too seriously. 

Thanks (0)
avatar
By cymraeg_draig
08th Jun 2010 19:09

You owe us rent

How much would we make if we privatised Wales?

 

Posted by Anonymous on Tue, 08/06/2010 - 10:03

 

More importantly - how much would Wales get for renting out England to you Norman invaders - your lease is up :)

And I wonder how much we could make for charging Birmingham for storing all it's drinking water?

Make the [***] a toll road for all caravans.

 

 

 

Thanks (0)
By kenfrost
09th Jun 2010 09:40

Simplify The Tax System

1 Abolish NI

2 Abolish all other taxes (eg CGT, IHT, stamp duty etc), except for income tax

3 Abolish higher rate tax bands and taxes

4 Set one rate of income tax applicable for all people at 20%

5 Increase personal allowances to £15000, for all

6 Soak up the tax take shortfall by adjusting VAT rate annually

The results will be

1 A simplified tax system

2 Lower direct costs wrt running HMRC

3 Simple annual budget announcement that more people will actually understand, and that the politicians can't hide behind

4 Lower indirect costs, eg less time and money spent by people on looking for complex ways to avoid tax

5 Offshore residents will contribute more to the economy via the higher rate VAT

As Alexander the meerkat would say "Simple!".

Thanks (0)
avatar
By petermalins
09th Jun 2010 12:22

Toll Booths

On the exit of supermarkets - by weight

Past primary schools

Bristol

M25 on the Londoners side - i.e a charge to exit London

An additional charge to get out of the London congestion zone

 

Thanks (0)
avatar
By User deleted
09th Jun 2010 12:29

Tax suggestions

We face severe structural problems with an ageing population and too many claiming benefits of one sort or another - so lets have some radical tax and benefit changes that encourage new behaviours, eg:

No benefits for anyone who becomes a parent before the age of 25 - might encourage a few more people to get some qualifications and life experience before trying to pass their genes on!If you agree to pop your clogs at 80 then there is no IHT on your estate.Withdraw all benefits once people pass the age of 80 - they've had their time so no more pension or winter fuel payments. We need cold spells to help reduce the ageing population not payments to keep the oldies alive!Free flights to Zurich for those reaching 80

Then on a more general basis a few extra measures, eg:

Salaries and bonuses only to be tax deductable up to a total of £250K on an individual by individual basis - to refelect the fact that rewards in excess of this level are about vanity and not really about the business need!Introduce a property tax based on notional rental value - less an allowance for family size to discourage investing in property. Should help reduce property values and get childless couples freeing up larger house for families.

Would I vote for these measures? Yes - even thought it would mean selling up sooner rather than later. At least I would know I have got about 20 more years to make the most of life before I did my civic duty and stopped being a burden on the state and on my heirs!

Thanks (0)
avatar
By jacqueline.dykeruscoe.co.
09th Jun 2010 19:09

A manifesto for change

Free bumblebees for all children, to replace the Child Trust Fund

A 100% tax on all nuclear weapons held by Johnny Foreigners

Corporation tax incentives for the production of paper darts

VAT replaced by SEKS (Stamp Exclusive Swearing and Kissing) tax

Window tax to be re-introduced, to replace Stamp Duty: 20% per window

National insurance levied on all Blue Peter badges still held in attics

A 50% exit tax on divorces

Traffic wardens to be funded entirely by a new tax on angels

Consideration of a worm tax, to replace income tax

 

Thanks (0)
By Democratus
11th Jun 2010 09:21

How About for a start

Re-invade France = correct usage of Income Tax.

Automatically ban anyone from being an MP unless they can demonstrate that they really don't want the role. That way we avoid getting the MPs we do get. The alternative would be for all prospective candidates uynable to demonstrate their dislike for the role should pay the Treasury the equivalent of 1 years annual MOs salary and allowances, non refundable. 

Have a Pick and Mix in all Public buildings, income to go towards financing sick pay for public sector staff, when it's all gone - no sick pay.

Anyone wearing trainers without actually doing anything "sporty" should have to do 4 weeks community service and pay a fine equal to 10 times the price they paid for the trainers.

It should be illegal to advertise on TV without the individual licence holders permission.

Allow Council Tax payers to elect which services they actually want and only charge them the appropriate tax. If they elect to not pay for a service and later find that they need it they must pay for it at extortionate rates.

Immediate incarceration for any charity worker offering to pack your bags in a supermarket, or free groceries for a year, either way is good for me.

I agree with the earlier policy of not wearing hats in cars.

Large fines for people who miss more than two  NHS appointments in their life.

Flat rate tax on all earnings of any type - not funny just correct.

Tax on tattoos - yeuch!

Tax on visible body piercings.

Tax on any organisation that wishes to demonstrate on the public highway - say £100 per attendant. Free demonstations in public parks or private land. This also applies to marathons, half marathons. 10K or any other stupid event held on the streets.

Fines for all incidents of incorrect use of English by "personalities". This would 

encourage them to shut up orencourage them to speak correctly. 

Tax at 200% the money raised by televison and radio programmes that depend on the telephone vote of their, obviously mentally challenged viewers and listeners.

Ooooohhh i could go on but i must get back to work.

 

 

 

Thanks (0)
avatar
By User deleted
11th Jun 2010 19:20

Privatise Wales ?

  About a fiver. 

Thanks (0)
avatar
By User deleted
16th Jun 2010 10:43

Reform Local Government to protect front line services

There is far too much waste in the public sector, especially in Local Government.  The majority of the public have no idea how much money is spent on the vast layers of management and back office functions.

In order to try to protect the front line when cuts are made, I would redesign the Financial Services Directorates of Local Government. In this age of austerity, local authorities are going to have to ensure that they provide Value for Money to the public in all the decisions that are made and that means starting with redesigning Financial Services to ensure that they have the skills and expertise to be able to deliver the cuts necessary, paid for at competitive market rate and not at its current rate, which is in fact way above the market rate.

I have worked for two local authorities in Financial Services in the past five years and I continue to be astonished by how many unqualified accountants are employed earning salaries in excess of £30,000 per annum and in some cases more than £40,000, when it would be extremely difficult to command much more than £20,000 per annum in the private sector without the relevant qualifications. I laugh when I hear that public sector employees are paid less than private sector employees, because this certainly isn’t the case in Financial Services. I do believe in theory that front line services can be protected in local government. It is a standing joke in local government that for every front line worker, a manager is needed to tell them what to do and monitor their every move and that each manager also needs a manager to tell them what to do and monitor their every move and so on. As a result, the bureaucratic process is never ending and what local authorities have ended up with is vast amounts of back office departments and management teams, which the public don’t see or get any direct value from. This of course costs the taxpayer a lot of money and is non productive in that it serves only to demoralise and de-motivate teachers, social workers, carers and all other front line workers who are micro-managed to the extent that they are made to feel as though they are not trusted to make any decisions or use their initiative. I also believe that front line workers do provide value for money to the public but it’s the vast amounts of ‘back office’ staff and management teams employed by councils that the public aren’t aware of that can be reduced which will also have the advantage of empowering the front line workers to feel more valued. Unfortunately in practice, this is unlikely to happen because the ‘back office’ staff and management teams will protect themselves and their mates and relatives that they have employed by cutting the front line services, and justifying this by claiming that it is the fault of the new coalition government for reducing central funding. I do fear that the public will believe their councils and also blame the government for the loss of essential services. It doesn’t have to be this way if councils were redesigned by evaluating every ‘back office’ and management job and eradicating them if they can’t provide value for money, whilst at the same time leaving the front line alone. Unfortunately, the managers that are tasked with making the cuts in the public services will protect themselves, their 'unqualified' friends and relatives who they have employed to work alongside them over the Labour years, at a heavy social and financial cost to members of the public via a reduction in front line provision. What a tragedy!  

Thanks (0)
avatar
By Colum
17th Jun 2010 11:06

Budget ideas

Normal

false
false
false

EN-US
X-NONE
X-NONE

/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0cm;
mso-para-margin-right:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0cm;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}

 The  UK  needs  to become leaner and fitter  and all unnecessary work/ employment , should be pared down.  This should apply to the tax system and the accountancy profession as well as other areas. 

The previous government created many ‘make work’ jobs   to compensate for the decline of traditional jobs ( i.e. where someone made something or did something) or perhaps to try and hide the true state of affairs. This is the wrong approach; the right approach is to strip out as much work from the system as possible to reduce it to its bare essentials.  Only then can you build on a solid base. 

The present tax system is, let’s face it, a massive job creation scheme for accountants, lawyers, other tax experts and consultants, tax officials and their staff as well as the software programming industry.   

It is also just plain unfair  that the super rich can pay   0 % (but instead pay  an annual levy of £30K),  the very very rich pay 10% on much of their gains( BATR and Entrepreneurs   relief) , higher earners  pay 51%, the lower earners  pay 41% the lower still earners  pay 28%, small businesses  can pay 21% and the underclass receive  god knows what.  Property speculators don ‘t have to pay national insurance but university lecturers do  - why?

 To start to remedy this:

1.         A flat rate of 20% for:

                                                               i.      Corporation tax

                                                             ii.      Income tax ( to be merged with NI)

                                                            iii.      Capital Gains Tax

                                                           iv.      VAT

                                                             v.      The CIS rate to be the same as the VAT rate ( so where a business is subject to CIS deductions and is VAT  registered the two  taxes cancel each other )

2.       Tax to be paid in three  forms:

                                                               i.      Primary tax - Money 15%

                                                             ii.      Secondary contribution – Community service, Scientific, artistic, cultural, sporting, renovative, environmental or charitable  projects   OR money OR direct work for the Government/ Local Government - 5%

                                                            iii.      Voluntary contributions to ii above. Amounts over 5%.

3.       Abolish the distinction between tax planning, tax avoidance and tax evasion.  

 If matters are left to themselves unemployment will rise so:

 Private sector organisations to take over responsibility for people who were previously unemployed / on sickness and for those made redundant and pay their dole and take responsibility for providing activity for these people out of the 5%.

No one to  get should be paid dole for doing nothing.   

Example: a large employer lays off 1000 people in an industrial town.  The town has some run down vandalised housing estates   with boarded up buildings, high levels of drug and alcohol abuse, graffiti,     violence and disorderly and delinquent behaviour among the young.  A large company taxpayor  takes over responsibility for paying the dole to these people(out of its 5% tax obligation); in return they have to get to work to clear up their own mess.  The company   to provide equipment and materials and professional supervision  etc.

Those  unwilling to work for their dole/ continue to pursue  anti social behaviour enlisted into the army. (I won’t go so far as  to say for work in  mine clearance  in Afghanistan.)  

The self employed/ small businesses  to be able to work for government / local government to pay their 5%. ( As a one off amnesty measure to reduce arrears of tax this is to be increased to 100% of  tax arrears at the time of the budget, so if someone can’t pay their tax they have to work for the government until the tax bill is cleared )

Example: A self employed builder has arrears of tax (because a major customer could not raise finance for a project as expected at the same time as he kept his workforce on); he can pay the tax arrears by working to renovate a house occupied by a disabled pensioner who cannot afford to do the property up. Benefits – taxes treated as paid,   government owned  assets are improved ( possibly for onward sale when the present occupant passes away) , pensioners lives improved , small business saved, small business owner saved from worry and distress over bailiffs visits etc. etc. 

 In order to pay for the reduction in headline rates there should  be less claiming, fiddling and cheating and a broadening of the tax base.

4.       Personal  allowances, age allowances etc to  be abolished.  This will have the added benefit of scrapping a whole industry of personal allowances claim backs  for CIS, foreign workers etc.  

5.       Small business and the self employed are to be taxed according to whether  they are self employed or small businesses rather than according to whether  they are companies, partnerships or individuals. ( Substance over form)    

6.       The self employed to  be given an annual expenses  allowance based on turnover for all expenses.   This allowance will eradicate the need  for bookkeeping and accounting for the  majority of the self employed so that they  need only to record their turnover thus saving vast amounts  of professional time.  

7.         In this way brown paper bags  would no longer be allowed into accountancy offices , office juniors will no longer have to spend their days adding petrol bills or  trying to work out which restaurant bills are for ‘entertainment’  and which bills are for subsistence. Accountants will no longer have to advise on wife’s wages and claims for use of home as office thus saving a vast amount of money  and professional time for more productive work.

8.       There are far too many small companies in the country which seem to serve no purpose except tax avoidance. These cause an enormous amount of unnecessary work and confusion.   Each company to  appoint a ‘responsible tax person’ to be responsible for the tax  from the company.  That person may notify Companies House that he or she is taking over the tax responsibilities of the company and Companies House may then, if requested, delete the company from the Register.

9.       All loss reliefs to be abolished- people should learn not to lose money!  

10.   Abolish the tax raising powers  of Quangos such as the BBC and  the CITB;   these   to be given much smaller sums  or scrapped.  Giving these organisations tax raising powers creates injustice (why should builders pay an extra tax?) and duplication of effort(=  waste).  

11.   Linking the property base with the income tax base to ensure that all residential homes are generating tax.  All  residential property in the UK   to be owned by an individual who is responsible for paying tax  ( No hiding behind overseas  Companies)

12.   Owners of empty properties  to pay tax on the annual rental value

13.   Directors of large companies that deliberately delay payment to their suppliers to be imprisoned and taxed at 200% for 10 years retrospectively.  Same consequences apply  if they unfairly  renegotiate contracts with their suppliers to worse terms  than before.  

14.   Large Companies and Banks Mistakes Tax and Confiscation Order – the culpable directors of large companies to be subject to   a confiscation order to return all bonus money / or assets received/ proceeds etc  when they have presided over a mess causing vast losses to the public and / or had to be bailed out.  

15.   As the confiscation order is insufficient to recover all the money  lost,  the culpable  directors of large companies/ banks to be subject to a Banks Mistakes Tax from all personal future earnings on income above £24,000 (national average earnings) until losses recovered.  The mistakes tax to apply whether the mistake is dishonest, honest,  daft, crazy,  mad, stupid, very stupid ( e. g. lending to sub prime borrowers.)   or inadvertent.

16.   This tax to apply to Gordon Brown

17.    Due to economic circumstances many  small business / self employed persons cannot pay their tax. As a one off amnesty to reduce problems caused by the recession/ credit crunch/ greed fuelled spending frenzy event, small businesses and the  self employed to  be given the option of working for the government/ community service  to pay off arrears of tax.  The Government (including local Government) to accept any reasonable offers of work/ goods/ services .  (Goods/ services to be charged at sales price)

18.     Mortgages, loan  and credit card advances to be taxed. The Mortgage Loan and Credit Advance Tax to be introduced in  2010/11  at 1 % a of the loan advance  amount  and increased by 1% pa until house prices come down to affordable levels.( defined as 2.5 times income as in the old days when  the system worked, couples could have children etc ) The UK has got into the habit of ever increasing debts and ever increasing house prices and many regard houses as some kind of casino chip. This has priced most young people right out of the housing market and houses are no longer bought for living in and raising families etc. The best way out is to tax these bad habits ( same principle as taxing tobacco) and get the level of indebtedness down.    

19.   Other reforms – Passwords cause too much confusion and time wastage - HMRC and the banks to be fined for using the letters I, L  or O and the numerals 1 or 0 in any computer password or  code.  A fine of £10,000 + re imbursement of professional time spent  trying to work out whether, for example,  a digit in a   code is a 1, an L or an I. The fine for the use of a B or an 8 in a code to be £5,000. ( because this is only confusing if, as in my case,  your handwriting or eyesight is poor)

20.   Audits to be abolished – the auditors didn’t seem  to spot that banks were basing their vast profits and bonuses on sub prime lending.   (Also to be noted; these monumental errors  only seem to get found out when things are so bad the company goes  bust but it seems fair to assume that all kinds of errors also occur in  cases where the banks did not go bust.  )

21.    Child tax credits and sickness allowance to be   claimed on annual IT  return and set against each other so that each taxpayor/ claimant  only does  one form per year and has only one account with HMRC.  i.e. Child tax credit to be set against IT.

22.   The Governments / Local government accounts to be prepared by small firms of accountants so that we get a fair share of governmental revenue and produce understandable accounts.

Thanks (0)
By The Minion
19th Jun 2010 23:10

work for all - who want it anyway

Remove VAT from Takeaways, sweet shops and restaurants to make them more affordable

Increase VAT on all healthy activities gyms etc to make them even less attractive

Introduce VAT at 50% on all expandable clothing, shell suits etc

Ban pedestrians and cyclists from the roads during daylight hours - rush hour made safer instantly.

Third lane of motorways to be restricted to a minimum speed of 90 miles an hour - get home faster.

After twelvemonths introduce a Fitness And Taste (FAT) tax where anyone with a BMI of over 18 or wearing expandable clothing has to pay a higher rate tax of 50% on all income (including benefits and WFTC etc etc) - and no grandfathering clause that exempts you if you were fat before the new regime came in.

Reintroduce VAT on Takeaways etc at 25% so those now addicted to fast food have no choice but to carry on buying.

The higher VAT on fast food and spandex clears government debt in five years, population falls due to increase in heart attacks etc so no more drains on health service and pensions shortfall disappears.

Anyone wishing to join my political party please apply on line, just a bit short of numbers at the moment to qualify for beneficial tax status:)

 

 

Thanks (0)
avatar
By DerekChaplin
21st Jun 2010 13:20

Rebranding

Compulsory rebranding for plc's every year - would stimulate the economy and generate additional income for advertising, stationery firms etc and hence increase the tax take.

One-off Tattoo tax - automatic flat rate tax levy of £100 per tattoo.

Health tax - fast foods 50%, health foods 5% refund - encouraging healthy eating and reducing the price of healthier foods - would cut the health service costs.

Lie detectors to be fitted to politicians - flat rate levy of £50 per lie detected in any televised interviews. To come from their pay - would effectively get them to pay for the privilege of being a politician, or encourage the truth (yeah right)

Phone-in TV show profits to be taxed at 150% - may encourage some better standard of TV.

 

Thanks (0)