Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Just a quickie that I suspect is going to run out of control.....

When it comes to your respective Government raises Tax rates, what is it that annoys you more (anyone saying it doesn't annoy them is most likely a liar, liar, pants on fire).

a) That you are now taking home less money?

or

b) That generally speaking, the extra money being reaped doesn't seem to get spent on anything which has an affect on your life?

For me, it's pretty definitely b). They monkey about with Tax rates, putting them up and up, and my life never seems to improve.

Example, in Britain we have a ridiculously unfair tax called Council Tax. The amount you pay is determined by the value of your property in 1991 (when the Tax was introduced). This means an older couple in a decent sized Family home (say, 4 bedrooms) living on their own, as their kids have moved out, pay the same rate as the couple next door, whose kids are still in High School, and less than the three young professionals sharing a house across the road. They might have a greater income than the young family, but probably less than the three professionals. To make it a fair tax, calculate the amount on the number of Working Adults in the house.

The Council Tax pays for your local council (and, quite piss takingly, the local Church, which I fething object to, being essentially and Atheist!) and it's ammenities. It goes up every year, usually way above inflation, and what do the Council do? Cut back services. Rubbish Pick Ups have gone from once a week, to once a Fortnight. Apparently this is meant to improve recycling, which is a load of rubbish (if you consider that a pun, please forgive me).

So, yeah. If you are going to take more and more of my hard end wedge at the end of the month, I want to see some bloody results!

MDG how much do you pay in council taxes a year? Is it a lot?

I pick B.

If you hike my taxes, I want to see someone somewhere do better. If you hike my taxes to buy people new cars who are idiots, no go sir. If you want to hike my taxes by an incredible amount, I better be getting a national healthcare service or something big like that.

I think Council Tax, typically, is in the region of £1,000 a year, give or take. I dunno, never having really had my own place I dunno what the typical going rate is. Though I better find out before I get my own swinging Batchelor Pad!

Oh arr, if anyone has a c) or other alphabetical continuation, please feel free to post it up!

If you're going to hike my tax, I'd like to see that money used to make it so that there's less of a need to hike taxes up in the future.

(Also, that "council tax" sounds terrible.)

Yup. Started off as the Poll Tax, trialled in Scotland.

Look it up on Google to see what happens when you piss off the Scots!

Oh, and in case anyone points out something I really should have included...

I get that Taxes do have to rise in line with inflation. The people doing the jobs our Taxes pay for need their pay to go up, thus Taxes go up.

It's more when you get a ridiculous jump or adjustment in the base rates I'm on about!

What happens if your home was built after 1991 when the tax was introduced?

I think go on the average for similar properties in the area.

Thus, if I built a new street of 3 bedroomed Family Homes, with double garage, front and back garden, then the Council Tax 'banding' would be determined by the nearest comparable set I guess.

Here in Oz you get a revaluation of your property every three years. Which seems fairer than your system but it does lead to problems of its own, particularly in areas with very shallow property markets.

In the country towns just outside of the city you get wealthy city folk looking to start hobby farms, so they come out with city money and buy a portion of a farm at a price per acre that can be anywhere up to twice the normally accepted price. This leads to a spike in valuations for all farms near that farm, which means all those folk start paying a greater portion of total rates paid. Which means lots of people write in and complain that rates shouldn't have increased by so much, at which point govt will send back a letter saying 'rates have only increased by 3 or 4%, it's just that your share set by your property valuation has increased due to the new valuation'. At which point the ratepayer will respond 'That's confusing. Don't confuse me. F*ck you.'

So I guess every system has its problems.

Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:b) That generally speaking, the extra money being reaped doesn't seem to get spent on anything which has an affect on your life?

Yeppers, this be the one. I always wonder where all that exorbitant tax money actually ends up. I don't have that much of a problem with paying it in the first place, as long as it does something worth-while.

Point being: less guns, more hospitals, schools, and community restoration.