General Election

[dm]

Well there's a surprise.

See if you can get those results from anything other than a very left leaning rag.

Lee, come on, I know what you're saying but the Guardian is just not a "very left leaning rag"! And that's a comment about it being 'very left leaning' not a 'rag'!!

You don't think the guardian is a lefty paper? I thought everyone knew that. I don't really have a problem with that though tbh. I like the fact that they express an opinion that is different to all the others, even though I don't often agree with it.

Personally I'd describe it as left of centre with a few more radical writers. The UK's press have always been dominated by the right. They have the money to shout loudest.

[SheepRanger]

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/soci ... 0420126306

[SheepRanger]

Jeremy Vine from 12:00 debating the Labour stance that £70-80k means someone is ''rich''

[SheepRanger]

Need to earn over £120k to be in the top 1% of earners
Those 1% pay 27.5% of all tax collected.

[dm]

Need to earn over £120k to be in the top 1% of earners
Those 1% pay 27.5% of all tax collected.

But many of their companies dodge paying tax.

[SheepRanger]

Need to earn over £120k to be in the top 1% of earners
Those 1% pay 27.5% of all tax collected.

But many of their companies dodge paying tax.

Possibly if they are not PAYE, but that is a separate issue and has nothing to do with Labour's election policy that those earning £70-80k will end up having to pay more tax if they get elected. This policy does not come with any caveat regarding collections activity elsewhere.

[Systemsguy]

Know a few who work for their own "companies" and pay themselves minimun wage..... Everything is then claimed back in "expenses"...

and then complain their secretary earns more than them!

[SheepRanger]

Know a few who work for their own "companies" and pay themselves minimun wage..... Everything is then claimed back in "expenses"...

and then complain their secretary earns more than them!

If they claim expenses that are not genuine then that's fraud and if their accountant knows this they'll be in trouble too.

I run my own Ltd and all monies earned go into that. I pay corporation tax at 20%, a minimum wage that attracts NI, and dividends that get charged at 7.5% to the basic tax rate and 32.5% on higher rate drawings.

In simple terms:
- I pay 27.5% to the basic rate which is higher than PAYE rate of 20%. This effectively reduced because I pay lower NI payments on that minimum wage. The net result is the same.
- If I draw to the higher rate I effectively pay 52.5% tax (20% corp + 32.5% dividend tax) and this is higher than the 40% PAYE rate
- All expenses claimed must be in relation to the business activity and receipts available (mileage, hotels, subsistence etc)

There are a lot of myths about self-employed earnings and I accept there was a tax advantage many years ago but the Conservatives have closed those in recent budgets. The main saving is NI payments, but that is clawed back through the higher taxes elsewhere. There is still a slight benefit in figures by running your own Ltd, but it's very marginal. I have to go through this structure as my clients demand it.

[Montag]

I predict the Tories will win the biggest election victory of any government since 1935.

[SheepRanger]

I predict the Tories will win the biggest election victory of any government since 1935.

In the 1931 election the Conservatives got 470 seats vs Labours 52. In 1935 the results were 386 vs 154.

My betting site is offering long/short positions around a median of 372.. I can't see a record being broken due to the SNP.

[222gers]

Given the surprise of the two main French parties being ousted in the French election and the various other electoral surprises.....could it be that Mrs May has miscalculated ? She's playing with fire by, apparently considering listening to her right wing think-tank and abandoning the pensions triple lock, free bus travel and winter fuel payment for us old gits.

[SheepRanger]

Given the surprise of the two main French parties being ousted in the French election and the various other electoral surprises.....could it be that Mrs May has miscalculated ? She's playing with fire by, apparently considering listening to her right wing think-tank and abandoning the pensions triple lock, free bus travel and winter fuel payment for us old gits.

I think she's aware these points may lose her votes but she'll gain by Labour's view on the following:
- £70k salaries to pay more tax
- Refusal to deny scrapping of trident
- Conceding EU nationals can stay and then fighting for UK nationals rights to residency abroad

The last point alone shows he's extremely naïve and to me demonstrates he is not fit to negotiate, let alone with the EU.

[dm]

- Conceding EU nationals can stay and then fighting for UK nationals rights to residency abroad

The last point alone shows he's extremely naïve and to me demonstrates he is not fit to negotiate, let alone with the EU.

Given the amount of EU nationals who work in the NHS and who gather in the harvest, to mention just two areas of work, it's essential to allow them to stay.

[QPR_John]

- Conceding EU nationals can stay and then fighting for UK nationals rights to residency abroad

The last point alone shows he's extremely naïve and to me demonstrates he is not fit to negotiate, let alone with the EU.

Given the amount of EU nationals who work in the NHS and who gather in the harvest, to mention just two areas of work, it's essential to allow them to stay.

Nobody seems to have asked the question what happens if the EU does not reciprocate

[SheepRanger]

- Conceding EU nationals can stay and then fighting for UK nationals rights to residency abroad

The last point alone shows he's extremely naïve and to me demonstrates he is not fit to negotiate, let alone with the EU.

Given the amount of EU nationals who work in the NHS and who gather in the harvest, to mention just two areas of work, it's essential to allow them to stay.

Nobody seems to have asked the question what happens if the EU does not reciprocate

Exactly John.
Nobody doubt their worth in numerous sectors, but to concede without securing the rights of UK nationals working in the EU is madness. A friend of mine works in France on a nuclear fusion project and is going mental at Corbyn right now. About time that dinosaur took is moral principles out of his backside and joined the real world.