Taxation

Who would have thought that a conservative government would raise taxes across the board, to their highest level for decades? Taking our corporation tax from 18% to 25% in the middle of a crisis, is probably one of the greatest errors in the history of Number 11. In the meantime, Ireland has reduced it’s corporation tax and their economy is booming, thanks to many large overseas companies moving there, whilst we are making the UK less and less attractive to them.

SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises) make up the vast majority of companies and corporate tax in the UK, so what is the logic in handicapping them in the current climate.

We have one of the most respected currencies in the world, let’s not forget that during the financial crisis, the GDP was one of the ‘go-to’ currencies, with so much potential to encourage investment and channel it to make our nation a better place for all, but instead, hardworking people at all levels, excluding the elite of course, are being punished and the government is seeking ever increasing underhand methods to take more from them, or lessen their position, their wealth, their voice and their freedom.

When will the lesson be learned, that higher taxation results in lower revenue? Since the ‘reform’ of stamp duty under George Osborne in 2014, the revenue collected from the upper quartile has been less, even though the maximum rate for properties over £1.5m could be as much as 17% for an overseas investor, buying an additional property, for everyone else, it is still 12% and the result is that property in that sector stagnated and is worth no more today, than it was in 2016, particularly in London.

Fiscal Drag

Yet another deception masterpiece from the Chancellor, who has frozen the basic and high rate tax free allowance until 2028, have you any idea how much money that enables the Exchequer to take from working people over the next five years? Not to mention the following few years, as it will not catch to the level it should be, in real terms for years, if ever.

As it stands, the high inflation is working in the Governments favour, because a rise in costs of say 10% followed by a rise in salaries of 10% (assuming that did happen) would not result in people ‘level-pegging’ as they would in reality be worse off. This change will push many people who were never intended to be subjected to high-rate-tax, in to that bracket, that is totally wrong.

Online Sales

The large multinationals like Amazon are destroying our retail industry, which has been on the decline for decades. Firstly the small retailers were basically run out of town by the large department stores in the 70s and 80s, however these large stores, then gradually left our high streets, when they began moving to retail parks, leaving our precious high streets to wither and die.

This decline, though already in full swing, was accelerated by the lockdown, when so many small retailers shut-shop, as a result of the sheer size of companies like Amazon, but for these multi-nationals, taxation is almost an ‘option’

There were over £100 billion in online sales last year, at this point, I cannot confirm if that includes the Billions in sales that are made directly from companies such as Aliexpress, who do not have any obligation to the UK exchequer.