Mick

[weecalf]

Mick would replace Vat .aye sure tell us about it .notice he don’t say do away with it but replace it .

[aelmpvw]

he can hardly 'do away' with £125+ billion of revenue

[Old_Geezer]

Details seem presently lacking.

[TheChair]

VAT is the uniform system throughout the EU. Prior to joining, we had a system of purchase taxes.

[aelmpvw]

he can call it what he likes, he's still going to be collecting it ...

[ToraToraTora]

it'd be better to abolish income tax.

[weecalf]

Has any one mentioned doing away with MPs expenses to top up their unjust wages . I’d do that but I’m not gonna be the leader of the next opposition am I . Nor either are 10 of the next Tory leader hopefuls .

[Old_Geezer]

It'd be better to abolish most other taxes apart from income tax, since that's the one that mirrors what you got out of society and thus indicates what you should contribute back to the public purse. (Special pleading for retaining other types of taxation is allowed since some justifications are valid.)

[ToraToraTora]

OG: "It'd be better to abolish most other taxes apart from income tax, since that's the one that mirrors what you got out of society" - err no, the more money you have left after direct taxation the more indirect tax you pay on everything you buy. Direct taxation is a very poor way of collecting revenue, that's why it was only brought in a temporary measure during the Napoleonic war. Now it's a political football, contributes much less than indirect taxation and costs billions to collect, most of it is paid by those earning less than £50k. The problem is that it's beloved of the left that like to use it to punish the prosperous. The Tories, even TGL, shied away from reformation.

[Old_Geezer]

Indirect tax is stealth tax and doesn't relate to ability to pay. It needs special reasons for it's existence. Nothing to do with punishment except in some folk's imagination. It's about fairness. Manipulate a large portion of the nation's weath to yourself, and you then return a large portion back to the community.

[ichkeria]

Labour is proposing a land tax which could, if properly administered, replace a lot of income tax.

[ToraToraTora]

"Indirect tax is stealth tax and doesn't relate to ability to pay" -
it relates to ability to spend, much more tax is collected via indirect tax. "It needs special reasons for it's existence" - How? the governement decide on what it will be paid, eg fuel would be about 40p a litre without tax. "Nothing to do with punishment except in some folk's imagination" - when Labour set a tax band at 97%, it didn't collect much but encouraged thousands to relocate, depriving the country of much indirect revenue "It's about fairness." - most income tax is paid by poor people, how is that fair? " - Manipulate a large portion of the nation's weath to yourself, and you then return a large portion back to the community. " - I don't understand what that means.

[ichkeria]

The direct/indirect thing is a bit of a red herring.
VAT is “indirect” in the sense that it’s not paid to the government by the people who pay it.
Depends how you look at it: on the one hand everyone pays the same regardless of income; on the other hand wealthy people spend more and arguably pay more.