March 3rd 2021 budget.

[Milzy]

Money is infinite. Look at all the taxes the government are loosing on hospitality.

 

[Joey Shabadoo]

Money is infinite. Look at all the taxes the government are loosing on hospitality.

?

Are the government throwing lots of money at hospitality then?

 

[slowmotion]

Put a temporary 5% extra on VAT. It doesn't seem reasonable to stick a windfall tax on companies that stayed open, reacted quickly, spent money on PPE etc and obviously performed useful services during lockdown. They could have closed up shop and taken taxpayers' hand outs instead.

 

[dutchguylivingintheuk]

If you need to cut now, what i think is not very smart.. take all money from the bbc and let them fund themselves from all the money they made from selling taxpayer funded formats and series via bbc international.

 

[stowie]

If you need to cut now, what i think is not very smart.. take all money from the bbc and let them fund themselves from all the money they made from selling taxpayer funded formats and series via bbc international.

Most of the BBC budget is funded by license payers. So scrapping it won't magically make this money appear in the Treasury. But let's say somehow it does. The yearly budget for the BBC would cover a grand total of around 1% of our total budget deficit for 2020/21. The is deficit not debt.

I think it would take a bit more than stripping some national institutions of funding, as popular as that might be to some of the Tories who are throwing themselves into a culture war of their own imagination.

 

[lane]

There are two tax increases that would be equitable.

Limit tax relief on pension contributions to 20%. Introduce a (probably reduced rate) of NI on pensions.

Ending the triple lock on pension would be quite a saving.

 

[stowie]

Ending the triple lock on pension would be quite a saving.

It would be quite a saving indeed. But then there is this.....

 

[slowmotion]

How much does Rishi have to find to set the national finances back to its pre-Covid state?

 

[Eziemnaik]

Money printer go brrrrrr

 

[Unkraut]

It would be quite a saving indeed. But then there is this.....

View attachment 574299

The idealism of youth wanting the government to provide this that and the other for the population at large, and voting Labour to get it, which over the years turns Conservative as it gets fed up with the size of the difference between gross and net income on the pay slip coupled with constant pointless reform and change.

I have no idea how to balance the books which is why I would never seek election, but I have often heard that London has more billionaires than any other city on the planet. Be that as it may, the wealth of the country flows into the hands of a small minority, so some mechanism to try to change this would be worthwhile. Not redistributive taxation, rather dealing with the problem at source.

 

[Milkfloat]

Seeing as the government have quite some time until the election and has a massive excuse to blame Covid and the EU for anything bad, I would expect some unpopular changes. Burying heads in sands is not the right way to go, but then again interest rates are at a low so kicking the can down the road is not a completed disaster, but making the hole we are in any bigger is not wise.

 

[lane]

Seeing as the government have quite some time until the election and has a massive excuse to blame Covid and the EU for anything bad, I would expect some unpopular changes. Burying heads in sands is not the right way to go, but then again interest rates are at a low so kicking the can down the road is not a completed disaster, but making the hole we are in any bigger is not wise.

It will two years into their term before they can even start. That will leave only two or three years to the election. The impacts of Covid (and Brexit) will by then have significantly adverse impacts on the economy, employment, public finances and the NHS. So not a great backdrop to be fighting an election. Still Major managed to win against Kinnock despite a serious recession at the time.

 

[AuroraSaab]

I can't see Johnson waiting to the end of a full term. I think he'll call an early election to cash in whilst the success of the vaccine roll out is still fresh in people's minds. What's the shortest (voluntary) period for a parliament to run? Autumn 2022 possible election?

 

[lane]

In theory the fixed term parliament act means , I think, 5 years. But essentially with a majority they can call an election when they want.

 

[johnblack]

In theory the fixed term parliament act means , I think, 5 years. But essentially with a majority they can call an election when they want.

That's being repealed.