Fairness of Taxation

[Baff]

Tax is fair when I don#t have to pay it and someone else does.



HMRC will only investigate me when I have enough money.

They work on commision.

Small fry are not worth their time.



When they come for me, they will take as much as they see fit and I will have to pay an ex tax inspector to defend me.

So i either pay it to the taxman, or his mate. Either way I lose the money.









i was interested in the grpahs showing how the % of taxes paid by the wealthy in the US has gone down over the years.

What the graph didn't show however is how the percentage of GDP they earn over the years has changed.



It left me with the impression that this was likely not a story about the rich getting away with anything as much as it was a story about the rise of the middle classes.

[Borg Refinery]

I can't say I've ever heard of those precise examples, maybe it's a common thing in wales.  



But thanks for the clarity.. it's a shameit's necessary. I noticed litigiousness rose under Blair a whole lot, and you got all that junk mail telling you you coud claim this and that, all the no win no fee stuff, oh well.

[johnofgwent]

Are signs required to tell people the most basic things?

Like the yank style notices on coffee cups "Warning: contents hot". Has patronization risen or intelligence lowered that much? 🤔

Those notices are entirely the fault of ambulance chasing lawyers. In that sense, yes, the UK, thanks to Maggie Thatcher allowing solicitors to advertise, has ushered in the litigation-rich yank style environment where signs such as "do not microwave your poodle" and "do not use this hot air paint stripping gun as a hair dryer" are, regrettably, necessary.



And you know I'd go look it up. admittedly on a website of an online retailer sellign self adhesive signage ...



https://safetybox.co.uk/wash-your-hands-please-mandatory-landscape-sign">https://safetybox.co.uk/wash-your-hands ... scape-sign">https://safetybox.co.uk/wash-your-hands-please-mandatory-landscape-sign



"The health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) regulations 1996 state that Wash Your Hands Please Signs must be displayed"



But when I went to download a copy of the said regulations



https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l64.pdf">https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l64.pdf



I found, of course, that the above statement is pure hype.



The above regulations simply standardise industrial signage in accordance with an EU directive.



They do not make it a matter of law that signage be in place, and they state categorically that signage is only required where there is no other way to effectively communicate requirements and expected behaviours.



Most telling of all, the actual list of standard signs shown in this publication, which has been edited to remove the "harmful/irritant" sign because it no longer comes under these EU directives, contains no "now wash your hands please" sign at all.



So the considered answer to your question is yes, but not this particular sign.

[Borg Refinery]

Which, between ourselves, is the real reason why they have put Pappy in lockdown. Left to himself he would probably wander off and fall down the cliffs at Lands End  

[papasmurf]

Which, between ourselves, is the real reason why they have put Pappy in lockdown. Left to himself he would probably wander off and fall down the cliffs at Lands End  

There is nothing physically restraining me at home and I would not go anywhere near Land's End if I were given a free ticket.

[Borchester]

In my experience a significant number of British people are not capable of walking and chewing bubble gum at the same time.

Which, between ourselves, is the real reason why they have put Pappy in lockdown. Left to himself he would probably wander off and fall down the cliffs at Lands End  

[papasmurf]

Are signs required to tell people the most basic things?

In my experience a significant number of British people are not capable of walking and chewing bubble gum at the same time.

[Borg Refinery]

Worth bearing in mind that Blair brought the private sector into the NHS in a way Thatcher would have been slaughtered for.



The old political compass website never quite placed me correctly, but one of its more interesting features was a placement of recent historical figures, politicians and governments. The placement of the Blair governments is worth a look for any wishing to contest his right wing agenda.

 :hattip

When "Now Wash Your Hands Please" appears in English in FIFTH place on the notice on the bog door and welsh isn't even there, I think it's time to review immigration policy

Never even thought to look at the signs in a toilet. AFAIK the local ones are English only.



Are signs required to tell people the most basic things? Like the yank style notices on coffee cups "Warning: contents hot". Has patronization risen or intelligence lowered that much? 🤔

[johnofgwent]

There's a lot of wisdom in that quote for sure.



I was told that Harold Wilson supposedly implemented deeper cuts than most Tories could dream of, and Tony Benn called in the army on power workers. But their rhetoric was the exact opposite, but their actual actions were more 'right wing hang em and flog em' than most Tories would ever dream of..



Similarly, Bojo as mayor called for a complete amnesty on illegal immigration and very liberal policies. They say he's just a Cameronite liberal playing Cameron's "I'll say whatever you want to hear" stuff, while doing the exact opposite as much as possible, at the moment.



Heck, when the equal pay directive for foreign & native workers was floated by the EU, the Tories tried to vote it down. Talk about doublespeak. That was a while ago but still...

Worth bearing in mind that Blair brought the private sector into the NHS in a way Thatcher would have been slaughtered for.



The old political compass website never quite placed me correctly, but one of its more interesting features was a placement of recent historical figures, politicians and governments. The placement of the Blair governments is worth a look for any wishing to contest his right wing agenda.



When "Now Wash Your Hands Please" appears in English in FIFTH place on the notice on the bog door and welsh isn't even there, I think it's time to review immigration policy

[Borg Refinery]

Hmm.....



Well the best quote I heard yesterday was:



"I wonder whether promising to implement grossly unfair immigration policies is more politically popular than actually implementing grossly unfair immigration policies."



Or to put it the other way round for the voters, be careful what you wish for.

There's a lot of wisdom in that quote for sure.



I was told that Harold Wilson supposedly implemented deeper cuts than most Tories could dream of, and Tony Benn called in the army on power workers. But their rhetoric was the exact opposite, but their actual actions were more 'right wing hang em and flog em' than most Tories would ever dream of..



Similarly, Bojo as mayor called for a complete amnesty on illegal immigration and very liberal policies. They say he's just a Cameronite liberal playing Cameron's "I'll say whatever you want to hear" stuff, while doing the exact opposite as much as possible, at the moment.



Heck, when the equal pay directive for foreign & native workers was floated by the EU, the Tories tried to vote it down. Talk about doublespeak. That was a while ago but still...

[Javert]

Given the sort of society the 1920's produced; that's a good argument against it.



I understand that some folks want a society with all the facets of anarcho-libertarianism where everything is for sale, while simultaneously having Orban-style totalitarian govt, like a 'worst of all worlds' type deal but I don't believe the public would go for that.



Then again they voted for Bojo so maybe I'm wrong...

Hmm.....



Well the best quote I heard yesterday was:



"I wonder whether promising to implement grossly unfair immigration policies is more politically popular than actually implementing grossly unfair immigration policies."



Or to put it the other way round for the voters, be careful what you wish for.

[Borg Refinery]

I think you should Google the celebrated legal case mentioned in my sig if you want a law lord's answer to that.

Given the sort of society the 1920's produced; that's a good argument against it.



I understand that some folks want a society with all the facets of anarcho-libertarianism where everything is for sale, while simultaneously having Orban-style totalitarian govt, like a 'worst of all worlds' type deal but I don't believe the public would go for that.



Then again they voted for Bojo so maybe I'm wrong...

[papasmurf]

No they ain't.



HMRC does not have the resources to conduct the level surveillance of popular fantasy.

It does when people on internet forums give them most of the info they need.

[johnofgwent]

No they ain't.



HMRC does not have the resources to conduct the level surveillance of popular fantasy. Its major sources of information are ex wives and girlfriends who are invariably know as much if not more about the average punters finances than the taxpayer himself. And even when Ms White Hot With Girlie Rage does ring up, the case is invariably long and expensive and produces nothing because the defaulter has spent the money on another piece of tottie.

This is particularly so when they are in public, or even better elected, office ...

[johnofgwent]

I guess the key question is - should you be trying to avoid tax in the first place?  

I think you should Google the celebrated legal case mentioned in my sig if you want a law lord's answer to that.