Road Tax

[sfrain145]

Hi guys I wanted to start a threat to see the thoughts on this government and how they are looking after us.
We have a little Citroen c1. With zero road tax. And it looks like it’s going up to £195 give or take a year from April.
We have a motorhome and it’s currently £135 per year but it seems as it’s less than three years old and over £40k in values will be hit with the £600 per year tax and then the road tax is going to £105 I think so if my sums are right we are going from £135 per year for both to £1000 a year. Not a bad way of looking after the normal person paying into this system for over 40years. Oh and the electric car we lease will go from zero tax to £195 but that’s not in our budget.

 

[Puddleduck]

Good afternoon,

(When the electric fails in the winter. )
Not a good sign when we are supposed to be going all electric is it?

Not great at all as there are still several small communities not connected to the national grid.

 

[The Wino]

Really ?
Think I've previously mentioned that I'm quite a fan of the Australian Medicare system.
Private commercial competitive providers, pay at point of use from chosen preferred supplier and claim up to 100% back.

A brief look suggests that Australia has a lower point at which tax starts meaning more is paid plus a medicare tax charge? Presumably you're in favour of higher taxation?

 

[The Wino]

Norway, Singapore, Japan - all do a much better job than us with their world leading healthcare systems…

The NHS is just not fit for purpose now… it needs a bimodal operating approach so it can still deliver a service (of sorts) whilst it sorts itself out!

I think the Norway system would be great all we need to do is tax at a similar rate and go back in time and make more of north sea oil.

 

[The Wino]

Norway, Singapore, Japan - all do a much better job than us with their world leading healthcare systems…

The NHS is just not fit for purpose now… it needs a bimodal operating approach so it can still deliver a service (of sorts) whilst it sorts itself out!

This on Singapore

8-10.5% of an individual's wage, and is capped at a $52,000 limit.[24] This form of a health savings account is required by all workers; those below the age of 55 are required to deposit 20% of their earnings.[24] This contribution is partly matched by the employer who contributes 17% of the workers earnings.

Makes our look very cheap

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[Carpmart]

I think the Norway system would be great all we need to do is tax at a similar rate and go back in time and make more of north sea oil.

Indeed. It highlights how as a nation we have squandered our natural resources and failed to drive wage growth and prosperity… if everyone is prosperous, you pay more tax, no problem… self fulfilling if done right!

 

[Rapido925M]

It’s easy to say “stop doing this”: it’s much harder to say “start doing that”

 

[pagey]

What's all this got to do with road tax

 

[PaulW2]

The NHS is a basically an unstainable money pit.
The largest employer in Europe and currently devouring circa 12% of the revenue the Government raises at over £180 billion.
With the rising population, unless we can seriously reform it and vastly improve productivity, it will continue to drain the countries finances at the expense of everything else.
My view is that it needs remodelling with some additional contribution to certain elements of treatment/ services.

There are a few points worth unpicking there.

If the population doesn't grow it will age. If it ages the NHS, or any other health care system, will cost much more per capita. Old people cost massively more - it's an exponential curve. For example, people who live beyond 85 spend circa 1/3 of their lifetime health expenditure in their remaining years.

This has been the 'fact pattern' behind some of the disobliging pronouncements of some of our politicians in recent years - let the bodies pile high, no-one lives forever, and so on. In healthcare system speak the term is 'QALY' - quality-adjusted life years - as a 'return' measure for any healthcare expenditure.

And without enough young workers the tax base will shrink, resulting in a greater burden on the remaining workers. And of course we don't have enough of our own trained doctors, nurses and so on.

Health care has become much more expensive for other reasons too - tech, medicines and so on.

One can remodel and rejig and streamline and process engineer as much as one likes. The problem won't go away. In fact, we usually say these things because we wish there was a magic answer. Of course there isn't.

It was recently said by someone - I forget who - that the UK is a country whose economy runs on immigration but whose population doesn't like immigration. A conundrum.

 

[Minxy]

What's all this got to do with road tax

Not a clue, just a load of funsters having a p*ssing contest!

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[pagey]

The one thing that's not taxed

 

[John Barrett]

The one thing that's not taxed

Depending on one's age, it can be taxing!

 

[Puddleduck]

I think the Norway system would be great all we need to do is tax at a similar rate and go back in time and make more of north sea oil.

Norway didn't prop up failing industries as the UK did. That was unpopular in Norway at the time but the overseas investments made by the Norwegian Common Good Fund have resulted in many international companies having at least one Norwegian citizen on the board.

 

[Neilh]

I understand road tax is expensive Norway and prohibitively expensive in Singapore?

 

[PaulW2]

I understand road tax is expensive Norway and prohibitively expensive in Singapore?

I understand that you need a permit to own a car in Singapore. The permit costs about $ 100 k and needs to be applied for through a bidding process. (My facts here may be wrong - just ancient memory followed up by a quick google!)

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[The Wino]

Norway didn't prop up failing industries as the UK did. That was unpopular in Norway at the time but the overseas investments made by the Norwegian Common Good Fund have resulted in many international companies having at least one Norwegian citizen on the board.

I posted a link recently they taxed and made in the state oil company three times the amount per barrel we did so it wasn't just spending it that meant we lost out. There was of course all the proceeds from privatisation of state industries and council house sales that disappeared. I think it was all a smoke and mirrors thing people thought the economy was being well managed