Dear UK government

[scooterscot]

Make the tax year equal to the calendar year!!!

Of all the countries in the world we're one of the very few who operates such a convoluted outdated system.

The amount of time and energy that would be saved without having to go through two sets of annual books just to satisfy this quirky law dating back to the 17th century.

Get it sorted!!

[tomtomagain]

Don't worry. They plan to make it all automatic. Soon you wont need to fill anything in.

[barrydidit]

That's right, once they're helping themselves to a fair amount from your bank account you can just concentrate on collecting firewood to keep warm.

[AtW]

Quarterly tax returns coming soon, so you'll have same pain, but 4 times a year...

[jamesbrown]

That's right, once they're helping themselves to a fair amount from your bank account you can just concentrate on collecting firewood to keep warm.

May hay while the firewood tax doesn't shine.

[barrydidit]

The day they tax getting wood is the day i move to France.

[Waldorf]

I would agree to the tax year being aligned to the calendar year, or at the very least change it to 31st March.

I would also merge tax and personal NIC, remove most, if not all of the reliefs (most tax schemes involve these), widen the VAT base (easier to collect and harder to avoid), make employers NIC payable on the whole salary (to remove the tax incentive for employers to only take on part-timers, zero hour contracts etc) and others to simplify the whole system.

No new taxes unless at least two were abolished.

[AtW]

make employers NIC payable on the whole salary (to remove the tax incentive for employers to only take on part-timers, zero hour contracts etc)

Is it not on the whole salary actually received already?

Pretty big tax too - 13% without threshold, on high rates people pay 45% and 13% extra by company - eye watering level of taxation.

Employer NICs should not even exist - firms generate jobs in the first places, they should not be taxed for it, especially as they get absolutely nothing from "Employers National Insurance Contributions" - at the very least such contributions should be deducated from corp tax due, at least that would encourage employment.

I agree with the rest of what you say, however since you are a Gidiot supporter that means you can't be trusted in what you say ...

[Waldorf]

Is it not on the whole salary actually received already?

Pretty big tax too - 13% without threshold, on high rates people pay 45% and 13% extra by company - eye watering level of taxation.

Employer NICs should not even exist - firms generate jobs in the first places, they should not be taxed for it, especially as they get absolutely nothing from "Employers National Insurance Contributions" - at the very least such contributions should be deducated from corp tax due, at least that would encourage employment.

I agree with the rest of what you say, however since you are a Gidiot supporter that means you can't be trusted in what you say ...

No, employers NIC is only paid on salaries over the threshold which is about £8K, this is why many retailers etc employ staff on contracts of 16 hours, so they have no NIC to pay.

Sadly, although it would love to abolish this and other taxes, unless we cut spending, which the public seem to have no appetite for, this this is not possible.

I wouldn't quite say I am an Osbourne supporter, it's just that he and the Tories are much better than the alternatives.

[AtW]

No, employers NIC is only paid on salaries over the threshold which is about £8K, this is why many retailers etc employ staff on contracts of 16 hours, so they have no NIC to pay..

Well, companies get nothing for paying those NICs, so I see no problems with it - it's the tax that should be paid by the recepient, or more correctly - abolished completely or offset it against corp tax due.

Sadly, although it would love to abolish this and other taxes, unless we cut spending, which the public seem to have no appetite for, this this is not possible.

WHAT??!?!?! Tories were elected on the basis that they will cut spending in 2010!!! And in 2015 they got majority to actually implement it, that's ALL they got mandate for - cut spending to at least break even, nothing else.