Quote:
Originally Posted by Pierre
Is it the opinion of the class that wealthy, and not so wealthy, individuals should actively look to voluntarily pay more tax, or should the state close all the loopholes to prevent them avoiding tax?
|
So much to break down in a single sentence.
- there is no class here, just people debating opinion
- no one, from what I recall, mentioned "not so wealthy" so you are making a clear attempt to derail the argument here
- also, the term "wealthy" I think is only used by you, again to muddy the waters? I tried to be more precise and use the term "ultra wealthy" i.e. individuals who have more than £500m (-ish) in assets.
- no one mentioned they should voluntarily pay more tax, that is a dumb suggestion
- so yes, high net worth individuals should not pay an effective tax rate of less than an "average" salaried citizen. Now, we can debate what the exact figure is but you get the idea
- and finally (Esther), yes, the state should close all the loopholes to prevent them avoiding tax (offshore)
---------- Post added at 09:46 ---------- Previous post was at 09:43 ----------
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sephiroth
Ian, the problem you've got is conflating "fair and square" in the social sense with "fair and square" in tax proportion equivalence.
Your argument boils down to "it's not fair that rich people get away with tax avoidance scheme whereas the poor nurse isn't as rich and can't get away with anything". Fair enough - you don't appear to like this wealth gap.
I was referring to income tax because, like you, I believe in a fair tax system that isn't loaded towards the rich through enabled avoidance. But I also subscribe to JR's theories ( https://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2012/0...-the-rich-pay/ ) which address how taxation must also encourage investors to come to the UK.
I rather think that my stance is somewhat more rational than yours because there are adverse consequences from simply sticking it to the rich.
|
Seph, just to be clear here: I do not have a problem with the wealth gap per se, rather I have a problem with the contribution gap.
Don't forget, these people have more money that they can realistically spend in their lifetime and if they paid tax as the rate you & I pay it, they would still have more money that they can realistically spend in their lifetime.