"The solutions for politicians always seem to involve spending more money and raising more taxes. Efficiency or value for money are dirty words"
Excuse me Ian, but have you heard of Austerity or listened to any governing politician since 2010? I haven't heard one conservative suggesting that spending more money on public services was a good thing in itself - and plenty advocating more efficiency etc.
I am all for value for money and efficiency when spending taxpayers' money. However the NHS, social care, education and other much needed public services can't fund themselves and I would enjoy more honesty from politicians (of any party) about the need for sensible tax increases to fund services and pay public servants properly.
PS ref my previous posting... it is still April next year for unincorporated businesses above the VAT threshold. From the same guidance:
- April 2018 if they have profits chargeable to Income Tax and pay Class 4 National Insurance contributions (NICs) and their turnovers are in excess of the VAT threshold
(and April 2019 if you are below the VAT threshold, whether or not you are VAT registered)
Very useful indeed! One point re MTD though, my reading of the HMRC post-budget guidance says it is now coming in for unincorporated businesses below (and above) the VAT threshold in April 2019 not 2020. See https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/making-tax-digital-for-busine...
Who is likely to be affected...
- April 2019 if they have profits chargeable to Income Tax and pay Class 4 NICs and their turnovers are below the VAT threshold
- April 2019 if they are registered for and pay VAT
- from April 2020 if they pay Corporation Tax (CT)
what exactly is the red tape previous commentators are referring to?
companies house: they've changed the SIC and some forms... and slight change to shareholder reporting... nothing new there
agency worker rights... do previous commentators run temp agencies? if not, why do they resent agency workers having (some of) the same rights as other employees?
minimum wage... well it does go up by a few pence each year. are they suggesting it should be the same, or do they want it abolished? Would they work for £6.08 per hour?
abolition of compulsory retirement age... sounds more like cutting red tape I would have thought.
carrier bag levy... OK, perhaps that is "red tape" although it would only affect you if you were a retailer in Wales.
As for MPs sitting around all day... you may not agree with their particular views, but I think most of them work pretty hard. Or perhaps the commentator sees them as "red tape" and wants to abolish them, and replace them with... what exactly? Is he putting himself up for our dictator in waiting? Mind you, dictators tend to have armies of beauracrats too, not to mention secret police etc.
My answers
"The solutions for politicians always seem to involve spending more money and raising more taxes. Efficiency or value for money are dirty words"
Excuse me Ian, but have you heard of Austerity or listened to any governing politician since 2010? I haven't heard one conservative suggesting that spending more money on public services was a good thing in itself - and plenty advocating more efficiency etc.
I am all for value for money and efficiency when spending taxpayers' money. However the NHS, social care, education and other much needed public services can't fund themselves and I would enjoy more honesty from politicians (of any party) about the need for sensible tax increases to fund services and pay public servants properly.
PS ref my previous posting... it is still April next year for unincorporated businesses above the VAT threshold. From the same guidance:
- April 2018 if they have profits chargeable to Income Tax and pay Class 4 National Insurance contributions (NICs) and their turnovers are in excess of the VAT threshold
(and April 2019 if you are below the VAT threshold, whether or not you are VAT registered)
Very useful indeed! One point re MTD though, my reading of the HMRC post-budget guidance says it is now coming in for unincorporated businesses below (and above) the VAT threshold in April 2019 not 2020. See
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/making-tax-digital-for-busine...
Who is likely to be affected...
- April 2019 if they have profits chargeable to Income Tax and pay Class 4 NICs and their turnovers are below the VAT threshold
- April 2019 if they are registered for and pay VAT
- from April 2020 if they pay Corporation Tax (CT)
red tape roundup
what exactly is the red tape previous commentators are referring to?
companies house: they've changed the SIC and some forms... and slight change to shareholder reporting... nothing new there
agency worker rights... do previous commentators run temp agencies? if not, why do they resent agency workers having (some of) the same rights as other employees?
minimum wage... well it does go up by a few pence each year. are they suggesting it should be the same, or do they want it abolished? Would they work for £6.08 per hour?
abolition of compulsory retirement age... sounds more like cutting red tape I would have thought.
carrier bag levy... OK, perhaps that is "red tape" although it would only affect you if you were a retailer in Wales.
As for MPs sitting around all day... you may not agree with their particular views, but I think most of them work pretty hard. Or perhaps the commentator sees them as "red tape" and wants to abolish them, and replace them with... what exactly? Is he putting himself up for our dictator in waiting? Mind you, dictators tend to have armies of beauracrats too, not to mention secret police etc.
use of home spreadsheet
me too please!
copy to [email protected]
many thanks