Falling in Love...

[MOBIUS]

Hey folks! Anyone wondering why Moby's steering well clear of the VAT increases and Cameron's insistence on Trident staying?

I'm not steering clear of them, they just haven't been mentioned yet. From a personal POV I don't particularly care about 2.5% given the fact that we need to be tightening our belts as it is. Clearly there are concerns about the poorer segment of society, however much of their losses should hopefully at least be mitigated by the substantial initial increase in the allowance threshold, which is, as C0ckney pointed out, one of the Coalition agreements to reach £10,000 before the next election. You need to be looking at the whole picture.

As for Trident, I'm very happy with the way things are going! My instinct is that the Coalition is quietly setting the ground to avoid replacing Trident like for like - with each passing week it's looking more and more like the Lib Dem's policy. IMO we will ultimately come to a point where common sense will prevail and enough of even the Tory right wing will realise this.

[MOBIUS]

The increase in the personal allowance will be exactly offset by a decrease in the starting point of the 40% rate. So there is no net gain for top rate tax payers.

Now you're just being pedantic and trying to misrepresent my argument, as that is not what I said and you know it...

The Child Benefit adjustments aren't planned for another 3 years - these rich toffs have all that time to budget for that shortfall and stop buying 4WD prams and designer children's clothes - in those three years the income tax personal allowances are set to rise substantially to offset that shortfall. Simples!

[MOBIUS]

A quick reminder of LibDem economic policy from the 2010 manifesto-

Raising the threshold at which people start paying income tax to £10,000
Freeing 3.6 million low earners and pensions from income tax completely
Restricting Tax Credits
Restoring the link between the basic state pension and earnings
Introducing a Mansion Tax for properties worth over £2 million
Giving tax relief on pensions only at the basic rate
Taxing capital gains at the same rates as income
Replacing Air Passenger Duty with a per-plane duty
Closing loopholes that unfairly benefit the wealthy and polluters
Reforming local taxation, including looking into scrapping the Council Tax

So, given that we're only a few months into the new govt and that they are the junior partner, I think they're doing pretty well.

I am assuming, given that you've posted these policies, that you know what they're succeeding on and what's already in the pipeline?

[MOBIUS]

you'd think so wouldn't you. the idea of the government taking your money and then, using a very complex formula, giving you some back, always struck me as odd. why not just take less in the first place.

hopefully the income tax threshold will continue to be raised in years to come. taking the poor out of income tax.

100% agree with that sentiment!

[MOBIUS]

I don't know, but surely it shouldn't be that hard to figure out. In fact, I would assume that opponents of the policy have crunched the numbers (and had their figures checked by skeptics, hopefully).

-Arrian

Personally, I find it strange that we haven't already had those figures shoved down our throats, chapter and verse, by our opponents...

I can only conclude that the number of people affected by this anomaly isn't actually that high after all, given that anomalies are unusual things in the first place.

[Dauphin]

Now you're just being pedantic and trying to misrepresent my argument, as that is not what I said and you know it...

The Child Benefit adjustments aren't planned for another 3 years - these rich toffs have all that time to budget for that shortfall and stop buying 4WD prams and designer children's clothes - in those three years the income tax personal allowances are set to rise substantially to offset that shortfall. Simples!

I'm not being pedantic.

The Personal Allowance will increase, but the 40% tax band is being lowered by the same amount. i.e they will not recover their losses. Someone on £45k will pay as much tax in a couple of years as someone on £45k does now. Pop into the £100k+ bracket and personal allowance is being eliminated. So, someone on child benefit now will therefore have less income in three years if they don't get a pay rise (which is a far better argument than the tax stance you're spouting).

[Dauphin]

http://www.accountancyage.com/accountancyage/news/2271203/personal-allowance-rise-230

The decision in June’s Budget to increase personal tax allowance to £7,475 next April from £6,475 was accompanied by a lowering of the 40% higher rate threshold to £42,375 from £43,875, so that only the most in need benefitted from the change.

Grant Thornton’s Mike Warburton has predicted that the higher rate threshold could fall as low as £38,600, if the coalition government makes similar adjustments when implementing its pledge to raise personal tax allowance to £10,000. The Treasury has said there are no further plans to change the higher rate allowance.

[Bosh]

The most obviously retarded thing about the child tax credit proposal is that certain people will make more money if they AVOID getting a raise (they'd want to keep just barely low enough to still qualify for the benefit) which is rather silly.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

So, given that we're only a few months into the new govt and that they are the junior partner, I think they're doing pretty well.

I am assuming, given that you've posted these policies, that you know what they're succeeding on and what's already in the pipeline?

What do you notice about the policies that have either not been touched, or watered down the most?

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Hey look. Another LibDem election pledge bites the dust.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11507537

[Krill]

I can't see much point in anyone going to a British university if this goes through. Might as well study abroad.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

If the electoral system doesn't get changed (and it's not in the interests of Tory or Labour MPs to vote for a referendum) The LibDems will be finished for at least a generation. Too much has been compromised already, and the only ones still cheering are the "Blue Liberals" and those who support political parties out of brand loyalty, as if they were football teams.

[Krill]

Yup. It will be interesting to see what Clegg comes up with.

[MOBIUS]

The truth of the matter is that Labour has spent the best part of the last decade squandering this nation's wealth for what, except layers and layers of expensive bureaucracy? During this time of plenty it was Labour that introduced tuition fees and increased them to their current level to pay for their unsustainable bloating of the university system - so I can see why it might be deemed necessary to increase them still further after they allowed our economy to be destroyed from within...

The Coalition is picking up the pieces of over a decade of failure and destruction - desperate measures are now needed - although even I cannot defend the Lib Dems going along with this at face value without knowing more...

Worse still, I can see how the Lib Dems will be blamed for all this and how they might be consigned to years in the wilderness - because your average voter is a dumb **** that only cares about their vested interests - and that is how they will vote...

[MOBIUS]

THIS is the tuition fees betrayal - one could say that once Labour opened the flood gates, it made the latest decision inevitable...