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Post by johnc on Aug 4, 2022 10:37:33 GMT
I have just done the Tax Return for someone with income of just under £69K a year.
They moved from Scotland to England during the year and I am going to have to find out exactly when, because their tax jurisdiction in the UK is based upon where they lived the majority of the year.
If they are a Scottish resident they have to pay just under £500 tax. If they are an English resident they get a tax repayment of c£1,300. That is a cost of £1,800 extra tax in Scotland because of the additional 1% income tax in Scotland and the fact that higher rate tax starts about £6,500 earlier in Scotland.
It's not difficult to see why a few clients with earnings in the multiple 6 figure league have already moved south.
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Post by chipbutty on Aug 4, 2022 11:19:11 GMT
And yet the Wee Nipster still has the bloody cheek to tap Westminster up for more cash to cover their funding shortfall.
How they can still push for independence with a straight face.
I hope we offer to cover the funding shortfall on the proviso that devolution is unwound and they give us free shortbread for life
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Post by Big Blue on Aug 4, 2022 11:39:02 GMT
So how do you feel about your residency, John? I ask because the tax benefits of one jurisdiction are often off set by other considerations that affect day to day life. Switzerland is great for low tax but a nightmare for daily rule abiding, canton taxes and even whether that house you want is allowed to be a main house or not - or more commonly that you own it on the provision that the elderly couple living there stay in it until they drop dead.
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Post by johnc on Aug 4, 2022 13:04:19 GMT
So how do you feel about your residency, John? I ask because the tax benefits of one jurisdiction are often off set by other considerations that affect day to day life. Switzerland is great for low tax but a nightmare for daily rule abiding, canton taxes and even whether that house you want is allowed to be a main house or not - or more commonly that you own it on the provision that the elderly couple living there stay in it until they drop dead. Excluding the fact that it is my country, I was born here and I like the people, at the moment I am OK with the benefits of easier travel, quieter roads (although that can be difficult to believe some mornings), the scenery and easy access to green places, cheaper golf courses etc etc. However my real concern is independence. The Greens (and the SNP by association) are considering an annual 1% wealth tax for anyone with total assets incl house and pension fund of more than £800K and also the possibility of a means tested State Pension. When this is allied to the fact that Scotland already has a budget deficit and underfunded services the only logical conclusion is that taxes will have to increase significantly. Again, on its own tax increases might be acceptable but Newtons laws still apply to most things in life: every action has an equal and opposite reaction. More than 60% of all income tax in Scotland is paid by less than 10% of taxpayers. I have a small practice and without asking anyone, I can name you 7 people who have moved to England or have made plans to move in the event of independence. They all earn multiples of 6 figures so their contribution to that 60% is relatively large. In the people I know there must be a few others who are thinking the same way even if they don't openly express it. Extrapolate that across the country and the numbers could be very large as could the tax loss to Scotland. There is an international treaty preventing Corporation Tax being reduced below 15% which also takes away one of the means a Scottish Government could use to attract new businesses. In a word I think an Independent Scotland would be financially stuffed and would fall way short of the criteria to join the EU which is a long way from a certainty. The case for independence is being made with the same factual background as the case for Brexit was made: hope, a prayer and crossed fingers. The wealth tax will catch far more people than they imagine - most lifetime, full time local authority workers, teachers, NHS staff etc will have a pension scheme of half a million plus which when added to the value of their house could put them in the £800K + bracket. I am also sure there could be an exodus of wealthier pensioners if a means tested pension was even a remote likelihood. In short I am happy here just now but independence could easily have the same dramatic impact on my life as would be the case if my wife walked in and told me she was leaving for another man and taking half of everything. It would be extremely painful and life would never be the same again. The mere hint that the State Pension might be means tested would lead to me getting out very quickly. |
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Post by ChrisM on Aug 4, 2022 18:47:27 GMT
The mere hint that the State Pension might be means tested would lead to me getting out very quickly. That is insane - if you have earned a lot you have paid a lot in tax including National Insurance. Yet when you want to "claim it back", the government are thinking of denying it to you..... it will surely create an exodus (and people looking to explore loopholes etc to avoid paying the tax in the first place) |
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Post by johnc on Aug 5, 2022 9:03:07 GMT
The mere hint that the State Pension might be means tested would lead to me getting out very quickly. That is insane - if you have earned a lot you have paid a lot in tax including National Insurance. Yet when you want to "claim it back", the government are thinking of denying it to you..... it will surely create an exodus (and people looking to explore loopholes etc to avoid paying the tax in the first place) The Scottish Greens are basically Communists in all but name - they even want People's Committees to help run local Government. The danger is that the SNP need them to maintain a majority and that to retain their support they will get some of their demands met. Apart from being greener there is nothing they say that I agree with. |
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Post by PG on Aug 5, 2022 16:11:25 GMT
So how do you feel about your residency, John? ... .... However my real concern is independence. The Greens (and the SNP by association) are considering an annual 1% wealth tax for anyone with total assets incl house and pension fund of more than £800K and also the possibility of a means tested State Pension. ...The wealth tax will catch far more people than they imagine - most lifetime, full time local authority workers, teachers, NHS staff etc will have a pension scheme of half a million plus which when added to the value of their house could put them in the £800K + bracket. I am also sure there could be an exodus of wealthier pensioners if a means tested pension was even a remote likelihood. I am sure that the SNP and Water-melons will find a way to exclude public sector workers pension values. When Ireland needed funds in the last Euro crisis, pension plans were raided by a 1-2% surcharge. But only private sector ones as far as I am aware. Also, I did read that any wealth tax in Scotland might be a struggle, as although the SNP have the right to vary tax rates and thresholds on certain taxes, whether they have the right to introduce new taxes is open to legal challenge. But sadly, I am sure that if Labour propped up by the SNP get in at the next election, a wealth tax will be a real danger in the all of the UK as well. |
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Post by Tim on Aug 8, 2022 12:44:04 GMT
.... However my real concern is independence. The Greens (and the SNP by association) are considering an annual 1% wealth tax for anyone with total assets incl house and pension fund of more than £800K and also the possibility of a means tested State Pension. ...The wealth tax will catch far more people than they imagine - most lifetime, full time local authority workers, teachers, NHS staff etc will have a pension scheme of half a million plus which when added to the value of their house could put them in the £800K + bracket. I am also sure there could be an exodus of wealthier pensioners if a means tested pension was even a remote likelihood. I am sure that the SNP and Water-melons will find a way to exclude public sector workers pension values. When Ireland needed funds in the last Euro crisis, pension plans were raided by a 1-2% surcharge. But only private sector ones as far as I am aware. Also, I did read that any wealth tax in Scotland might be a struggle, as although the SNP have the right to vary tax rates and thresholds on certain taxes, whether they have the right to introduce new taxes is open to legal challenge. But sadly, I am sure that if Labour propped up by the SNP get in at the next election, a wealth tax will be a real danger in the all of the UK as well. Surely a large part of the problem - for both Scottish independence AND a potential Labour/SNP coalition in Westminster - is that the current incumbents in Westminster are making a great fist of pissing off people who should be somewhat scared of the 2 possibilities? I'm pretty sure Boris has been a fantastic recruiter for pro-independence thinking up here and Truss (and her apparent handler Rees-Mogg) doesn't look like changing that. Similarly I struggle to believe that the 'Red Wall' seats will be so pro-Tory after the shit show of the last 6-9 months. |
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