Many business owners seem to get VAT calculations wrong so what hopr is there for the average brit?
Hint: the saving is actually 5/105, not 5%
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What Should the New Prime Minister Do First for UK Businesses?
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Hint: the saving is actually 5/105, not 5%
This is a great question. I would strongly recommend Mr. Burnham looks into transport infrastructure. What I say might be contrary to what's desired by the general public, but I feel we need to think outside the box. Compared to the likes of some east Asian countries, our infrastructure is aged and perhaps full of patch jobs. So, I think we need bullet trains to connect the north and south.
Countless times when I want to travel for business up to the north, my shoulders drop as I don't feel young enough to drive up there with all the reduction in speed limits along the way. It really does make a difference, even if its only minutes, its the perception.
This might sound like a snowflake comment, but I often give the rail option a miss. I feel its too slow, especially having experienced what they have in east Asia.
I'd be highly surprised if my recommendation doesn't resonate with Mr. B.
Countless times when I want to travel for business up to the north, my shoulders drop as I don't feel young enough to drive up there with all the reduction in speed limits along the way. It really does make a difference, even if its only minutes, its the perception.
This might sound like a snowflake comment, but I often give the rail option a miss. I feel its too slow, especially having experienced what they have in east Asia.
I'd be highly surprised if my recommendation doesn't resonate with Mr. B.
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Do you really need to make that journey?
Taking the train means you can be productive on the journey. And with some clever scheduling you can see multiple clients on the same trip.
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I'd ask him to fire lots of his MP colleagues (the chamber is too big), fire a huge portion of the Lords, fire a healthy portion of the Civil Service (~20-30% target), massively reduce the number of quangos, preferably coupled with more firing too.
I'd ask him to recognise we need him to do less than all recent prime ministers prior have tried to do, the idea the government can "help" is precisely why we are in this mess, get out the way, we don't need your "help".
I'd ask him to commit to burning 1.5 pieces of legislation for every piece of new legislation passed.
I'd ask him to start approving licences immediately and drill the North Sea for whatever it has left.
I'd ask him to sort out the UK's tax code. Socialist groupthink has led to us with business owners and high productivity individuals as well as high earners (doctors, engineers etc.) stopping work at 2-4 days given the massive tax cliff edges which effectively directly incentivise people to work less - its the most bone-headed design of policy you could come up with, unless you're a Marxist.
I'd ask him to raise the VAT threshold for small businesses too, for same reason as above.
I'd ask him to reverse IR35 too, for same reason as above. If the objective was to force people into retirement or make them happier to exist on less then we've been amazingly successful.
I'd ask him to actually educate the public we haven't had austerity, we are living way beyond our means, and difficult decisions need to be made, skill up, China wants your lunch, India your dinner, we're not performing internationally. Don't make the mistake of putting a moat up like we did in the 70s and pretending people from abroad want to buy from us.
I'd ask him to recognise we need him to do less than all recent prime ministers prior have tried to do, the idea the government can "help" is precisely why we are in this mess, get out the way, we don't need your "help".
I'd ask him to commit to burning 1.5 pieces of legislation for every piece of new legislation passed.
I'd ask him to start approving licences immediately and drill the North Sea for whatever it has left.
I'd ask him to sort out the UK's tax code. Socialist groupthink has led to us with business owners and high productivity individuals as well as high earners (doctors, engineers etc.) stopping work at 2-4 days given the massive tax cliff edges which effectively directly incentivise people to work less - its the most bone-headed design of policy you could come up with, unless you're a Marxist.
I'd ask him to raise the VAT threshold for small businesses too, for same reason as above.
I'd ask him to reverse IR35 too, for same reason as above. If the objective was to force people into retirement or make them happier to exist on less then we've been amazingly successful.
I'd ask him to actually educate the public we haven't had austerity, we are living way beyond our means, and difficult decisions need to be made, skill up, China wants your lunch, India your dinner, we're not performing internationally. Don't make the mistake of putting a moat up like we did in the 70s and pretending people from abroad want to buy from us.
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Maybe the average news editor is incapable of working out what 5% means. A first in media studies, but cannot add up.
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Yep, but now all they've got to do is deliver it (and perhaps more?)
It's a good point and you're question is valid. I probably don't need to, and that's probably why any plans are immediately squashed. If its genuinely needed, of course I'll go. I think we can all agree that face-to-face meetings with people you've only met through Teams etc. makes a remarkable difference, so that's why I try to arrange something where I can. I'm all for the clever scheduling, but I can see that house of cards disintegrating quickly when depending on transport systems (motorways and/or rail) that can experience sudden changes or situations. I'm certain I've tried this in the past, and its probably why I choose one meeting on one day, when on the road, esp. as some meetings might overrun.
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Make a clear distinction between corporate landlords, social landlords and a Landlord with just one or 2 properties.
Make it viable for a single property landlord to let out a property without the fear of getting totally scr****.
Ban councils from advising tenants not to move, out of a rented property if they are doing it primarily to help themselves rather than the tenant.
Don't allow councils to class people as Intentionally homeless if they move out of a property they can no longer afford.
Make council comply to their duty of care regarding homelessness.
Doing the above would make landlords more happy about renting, make more properties available for rent, and bring down the price of rental properties.
People living in properties they can't afford to should be supported by Government and rehomed in properties they can afford to live in (council houses, social housing, or similar).
In my opinion, the number 1 problem in the country at the moment is a large section of society are living in houses they can't afford to live in.
Possible answers - Rent control, cheaper housing, more support for low income renters, make it simpler for renters to move from properties they can't afford to properties they can.
Government owned essential utility providers run on a non profit basis - Phone line, broadband, water, electric, transport
Make it viable for a single property landlord to let out a property without the fear of getting totally scr****.
Ban councils from advising tenants not to move, out of a rented property if they are doing it primarily to help themselves rather than the tenant.
Don't allow councils to class people as Intentionally homeless if they move out of a property they can no longer afford.
Make council comply to their duty of care regarding homelessness.
Doing the above would make landlords more happy about renting, make more properties available for rent, and bring down the price of rental properties.
People living in properties they can't afford to should be supported by Government and rehomed in properties they can afford to live in (council houses, social housing, or similar).
In my opinion, the number 1 problem in the country at the moment is a large section of society are living in houses they can't afford to live in.
Possible answers - Rent control, cheaper housing, more support for low income renters, make it simpler for renters to move from properties they can't afford to properties they can.
Government owned essential utility providers run on a non profit basis - Phone line, broadband, water, electric, transport
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Public Spending - It needs to be looked into as a priority - billions wasted on things we really do not need. Civil Servants are paid too high, when a lot of similar jobs are 10/15% lower. That £3.5bn defence gap can easily be found if we stopped spending money needlessly.
NHS - Needs changed to be made to prescriptions, we actually need to tell people to get fitter and look after after themselves instead of just accepting that is there when you need it. NHS offering too much for free in my opinion on lots of little spends. How much are 'test kits' that get sent out costing the NHS each year?
Actually putting people in jobs - Pay companies to take people on for trial periods, forget interviews and all of this. Put people in entry level jobs, where even the most simply of individuals can work in that job. If the trial periods are a complete fail, then back onto benefits, if a individual just needs some more time, then let them carry on.
Train prices need a max price based on miles - people happy to spend hundreds on thousands at going places, but often put off by the first initial through of expensive train travel
Creating a 'max price' policy - There are some stupid prices out there for a lot of things and it's going to make no difference to the economy, but paying £3/£4 for a bottle of water and beyond is just a joke.......
MP's are overpaid - £95k is it? I would cut that by £15k if I could, a easy saving there.
Rent needs to be capped - and that would help the government with the LHA's, another saving
NHS - Needs changed to be made to prescriptions, we actually need to tell people to get fitter and look after after themselves instead of just accepting that is there when you need it. NHS offering too much for free in my opinion on lots of little spends. How much are 'test kits' that get sent out costing the NHS each year?
Actually putting people in jobs - Pay companies to take people on for trial periods, forget interviews and all of this. Put people in entry level jobs, where even the most simply of individuals can work in that job. If the trial periods are a complete fail, then back onto benefits, if a individual just needs some more time, then let them carry on.
Train prices need a max price based on miles - people happy to spend hundreds on thousands at going places, but often put off by the first initial through of expensive train travel
Creating a 'max price' policy - There are some stupid prices out there for a lot of things and it's going to make no difference to the economy, but paying £3/£4 for a bottle of water and beyond is just a joke.......
MP's are overpaid - £95k is it? I would cut that by £15k if I could, a easy saving there.
Rent needs to be capped - and that would help the government with the LHA's, another saving
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Do you mean the direct cost or the cost after calculating the savings made to the country by diagnosing issues while they are treatable?
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What is the cost to the company of the failure and who covers that?
Back when I was a civil servant they hired a guy with learning difficulties - generally a good thing - they gave him the simple job of filling things away, but unfortunately he didnt know the alphabet, so he'd basically just put any file anywhere. They had to hire 2 more staff to go through the filling system and find everything that he'd misfiled.
He did enjoy the job though,
Got to disagree with this one, mps are grossly underpaid, that why it attracts the kind of people who become MPs. Triple the salary, sack 2/3rds of them - cost neutral. Require a certain level of experience in business/local government before you come eligible to be an mp.
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All the test kits I get mean I don’t end up in hospital. £98/month is cheaper than seeing a consultant when I feel iffy.
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People get tests kits and they simply have no idea what they are for, often sent for people in age brackets. People left confused and so on, and no response by the person to the test kit.
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The DWP could come up with some sort of agreement with companies for them to take level entry jobs, surely? We have now a system where people just go and say they applied for a job and that's it every month, or they go on a courses that aren't good enough. Essentially people want to take on the best candidates, but at some point big business have got to take risks with people who aren't the best 'on paper' but could do the job.
As for MP's and their salary, I suppose we will have to have to disagree. There are however quite a few good ones who mean good for their community and will go out their way.
Just seen somewhere else that minsiters have also been given a severance pay after losing their jobs at their last election, is that fair and reasonable?
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On the point about MPs and their salary...
I'm with @NickGrogan on this. The UK is a ~ £3.5tn economy (I know ... we should be doing a better than that) and we need the cream of the cream to govern our country. £95k does feel low and comparably less than a lot of executives pay, but to be fair, I can't think of any MP that stands out as being like, ultra good, or even a little good. They're seemingly in it for their own agendas, which is why we're left with perceived unfinished initiatives. So on that point @NewTime 's argument is probably valid in the sense that the current cohort of MPs are overpaid.
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A simplification of the income tax system so that the 60% tax trap is removed. Leave the tax free allowance as is but lower the starting rate of the 45% tax band to £100,000. This removes the cliff edge at £100,000 and simplifies the system.
Pay all families child benefit, but make it taxable which again simplifies the system.
Pay all families child benefit, but make it taxable which again simplifies the system.
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So the poorest, who already pay tax on an income of £12600 will also have to pay tax on their child benefit. That will do a lot to help the lowest paid who are currently in need of the most help. I agree that the current system is inappropriate, but the thresholds should all rise, at least in line with inflation, every year.
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The country is not big enough. It just needs a free upgrades to remove bottlenecks.
Motorway limits haven't changed in years. It's only the last mile or two where you are likely to hit a 20 mph zone.
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He wont be doing us to many favours.
He knows nothing about business,never been in business and does not care about business.
He has brought and sold a few buses for a while but I think he will try and find as much money as possible to support his state universal credit benefits society
He knows nothing about business,never been in business and does not care about business.
He has brought and sold a few buses for a while but I think he will try and find as much money as possible to support his state universal credit benefits society
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I'm just going to throw my all time favourite joke in here...
What do you call a computer that can sing?
A Dell.
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One thing I talk about a lot is how governments spend money, not specifically on policies, but general spends on things that are needed. I do honestly think we should find billions of pounds by spending more efficiently.
Another example of a waste of tax payers money is that Andy Burnham and his team spent £30,000 on a plane from London to Manchester for their opening of 'No.10 North. Is this really necessary? How much does it cost to put 50 people on a train to Manchester? Not £30,000 that is for sure.
An utter and needless waste of money to add to the many more.
Another example of a waste of tax payers money is that Andy Burnham and his team spent £30,000 on a plane from London to Manchester for their opening of 'No.10 North. Is this really necessary? How much does it cost to put 50 people on a train to Manchester? Not £30,000 that is for sure.
An utter and needless waste of money to add to the many more.
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