In the last few weeks my wife visited a hairdresser salon, a nail bar and a place where eyebrows are coloured. In each of them were notices saying that only cash was accepted, and not credit or debit cards.
All very well, I know there is a strong campaign to try to stop the abolition of cash, but the majority of younger people want and do pay by card or through apps on their iphones.
So why are all these businesses refusing to accept card payments? My conclusion is that it enables them to ‘lose’ a few transactions each day so they don’t pay as much tax.
Just imagine – this is happening all over Britain and how much tax is being avoided?
In my book, all businesses should offer cash and card payments, with the preference being on card. That way it would be far harder for a business to cook the books, giving the government more money to run the country.
Why have I mentioned this now? This autumn, the new Labour government will be unveiling their first budget and if predictions are anything to go by, it’s going to herald some pretty bad news. A few days ago Labour PM Sir Keir Starmer was saying things would get worse in the UK before they got better.
The bad news has already started rolling in, with the abolition of pensioners’ winter fuel allowances, except for those on benefits.
So much has to be “repaired”, from the ailing NHS to social care, from the state of the roads and the pothole epidemic to crumbling school buildings. And UK defence is in shambles. And it is all going to cost a packet.
If Labour’s past record is anything to go by they will look to those with the broadest shoulders to bear the brunt. And so they should because successive Tory governments have manipulated the tax burden to favour the rich.
The right-wing press have warned that if the tax burden on the rich is too high they will take flight and quit Britain. I can’t see that happening. For example, I cannot see very many parents pulling their offspring from private schools just because they will have to pay VAT. They are not going to watch little Johnny go to a State school and miss the chance to go to a top university, they will cash in a few share certificates.
So, as well as requiring businesses to allow card payments so they can’t avoid paying tax, let’s look at other ways Labour can claw money in and make things fairer.
A tightening of the rules is long overdue. One estimate is that the rich get away with avoiding 56 million pounds tax each year and the true figure is probably far, far more. And that could go a long way to repairing Britain.
The rich can and use trusts to reduce their inheritance tax bills. Once assets are held in a trust, they no longer belong to the trustee, they belong to the trust. Therefore, these assets are not liable for inheritance tax when the trustee dies. They also use tax havens – something that should have been ended long ago.
TRAVELLERS
Something that has annoyed not only me but many in Britain is how so called “travellers” can get away with invading private land, causing damage, huge amounts of litter and massive problems for people living nearby. It’s ridiculous that it takes weeks before a court order is issued which allows the landowner to evict them.
These travellers are avoiding paying council and income tax. They use every trick in the book to avoid being brought into line and have them paying their taxes. They even have the cheek to call themselves gypsies who deserve special treatment.
Last year a group of “travellers” invaded a greensward close to a lifeboat station. They caused so much trouble the station had to close to visitors which meant the RNLI lost money from gifts from the visiting public.
It took weeks before a court order was obtained to evict them – these people know how to play the system.
It’s about time the law was tightened to turn the tables on them, and make sure they are evicted within 24 hours. If they failed to pay fines their belongings should be seized, including their lavish mobile homes.
That would get them into conventional accommodation which meant they would have to pay council tax. And if people stopped using people like them – doorstep callers – to do work, it would stop another fiddle, because it’s obvious they can offer cheap prices because they avoid paying tax.
There’s another tax dodge in Britain which needs action. Across the country there are holiday park home sites which have a range of holiday facilities, such as a shop, meeting place, perhaps pool, swings and slides – in fact all the facilities you would expect for a holiday. These usually close at the end of October and reopen just prior to Easter. Fair enough.
Then there are residential park home sites, which can be bought on a lease and allow people to sell in the market and owners pay council tax, just as if they were in a bricks and mortar house.
Then there are those sites up and down the country which pretend they are “holiday” sites which offer nothing for a holiday and remain open for almost all the year. It’s another loophole which should be closed.
People on these pay no council tax, because it is assumed owners have a conventional home elsewhere and are paying council tax – a loophole allowing people to live on the cheap. And also they don’t even pay TV licences!
Just imagine how much council tax is being lost through this. They all should be paying at least 1,500 pounds per year – but they are not. With that extra money councils could do a lot to repair the damage done by 14 years of Tory rule.
Labour, with a thumping majority, can do a lot to sort out the loopholes, devised over the years by accountants and lawyers, so that much more money could be raised in tax and by so doing get the country back on its feet.
And lastly, let’s look at the ridiculously unfair council tax system. If you are living in a terraced house on band A you would pay about 1,500 pounds. If you are in a house worth 320,000 pounds you would pay about 4,500 pounds. And if you live in a mansion, or one of those luxury houses offered as a prize in Omaze draws you would pay the same as a 320,000 pound property. Think that’s fair? No doubt rich Tories do, but the vast majority would not. Just think how much councils could benefit if the council tax system was brought up to date. Valuations haven’t been done since 1991. I wonder why?
There you are Keir, I hope you read this and take up some of my suggestions. Perhaps then Britain will get better quicker!
BULLY DOG DEATHS
Over the past fortnight we have heard two more harrowing news stories of people being gored to death by dangerous dogs.
In Lancashire a man was killed by his own XL bully dog. Police were called to reports of a dog attacking someone inside a house in Accrington.
The owner of the dog was found dead inside. It was confirmed to be the banned breed, was shot by armed police.
Only a day or two later a man as found dead in the back garden of a house in the West Midlands. It is believed the four dogs, which he owned were American-type Bulldogs.
Many years ago my wife had an American Pitbull Terrier. She said for a long time the dog was a real pet, playing with children and showed no aggression. However, on one occasion it was attacked by another dog in a park, and then a few weeks later for no reason whatsoever, attacked her daughter, causing a severe wound on her arm. The dog had to be destroyed. This breed has since been banned.
XL Bully is a banned breed and have been responsible for many deaths and serious injuries. But instead of having all destroyed, typically Britain allows exemptions. It is about time Britain puts an end to creating loopholes – if a dog breed is dangerous it goes.
LOCATION, LOCATION
The Location, Location, Location presenter Kirstie Allsopp has got into all sorts of hot water for allowing her 15-year-old son to go with a 16-year-old friend on a train-hopping holiday through Europe.
She foolishly put news of his trip on social media, which resulted in a load of crap from busy bodies, one of whom reported her to social services, who are now obliged to investigate. All this shows me just how namby pamby and ridiculously crass Britain has become.
By the age of 11 I was catching a bus to the railway station, travelling by train 25 miles, then walking a mile to school, and returning during the evening. My parents didn’t wrap me in cotton wool, it was a good learning curve. By 15, I was going on exciting expeditions with an astronomical group, one of which was to the Isle of Skye to camp on the Cullin Hills to photograph the aurora.
In my book Kirstie’s fault was to be stupid enough to mention one word of it on social media, which is a curse of the modern age. Too many crackpots and idiots are spending all their waking hours on it – the human race is simply not ready for it and won’t be for several generations.
Secondly it’s ridiculous that we have laws which are catch-all scenarios. Kirstie’s son is probably well educated and more than capable of looking after himself. There are many 15-year-olds in deprived areas which are not safe let loose in their own streets.
It’s these which council social services should be devoting their working hours to – and if they think they have time to spare, perhaps they should be better employed filling the potholes in streets.
