Tax (Photo credit: 401K)
How much do you understand about how taxes are levied in the UK?
I came across this interesting article the other day (A taxing pill to swallow | Total Politics) which tries to explain a “hidden” part of the Coalition Governments attempts to streamline our taxes. Many of these taxes are well hidden, something the previous Government was good at.
If you don’t realise you’re paying tax, you don’t resent it. How much tax do you actually pay when you fill up your car or buy a pint of beer? Do you realise that income tax and national insurance is included in those taxes? So you may actually be paying £139 to put £30 of petrol in your tank and £5.24 for a pint of beer instead of the £2 you may be charged over the counter.
The Office for Tax Simplification has been set up to help bring about more transparency in our tax system. It’s first attempts are to merge National Insurance with Income Tax – which means the basic rate of Income Tax would go up to 32p in the pound from 20p at current rates. Part of this change would include changes to you tax return which could indicate how your tax is spent, for example for every £1 you pay in tax, 30p goes to the NHS, 20p on defence etc.
If you want to know more, I suggest you read the article.
A taxing pill to swallow
Tax (Photo credit: 401K)
How much do you understand about how taxes are levied in the UK?
I came across this interesting article the other day (A taxing pill to swallow | Total Politics) which tries to explain a “hidden” part of the Coalition Governments attempts to streamline our taxes. Many of these taxes are well hidden, something the previous Government was good at.
If you don’t realise you’re paying tax, you don’t resent it. How much tax do you actually pay when you fill up your car or buy a pint of beer? Do you realise that income tax and national insurance is included in those taxes? So you may actually be paying £139 to put £30 of petrol in your tank and £5.24 for a pint of beer instead of the £2 you may be charged over the counter.
The Office for Tax Simplification has been set up to help bring about more transparency in our tax system. It’s first attempts are to merge National Insurance with Income Tax – which means the basic rate of Income Tax would go up to 32p in the pound from 20p at current rates. Part of this change would include changes to you tax return which could indicate how your tax is spent, for example for every £1 you pay in tax, 30p goes to the NHS, 20p on defence etc.
If you want to know more, I suggest you read the article.