What's a good salary?

But why should couples be given preferential treatment to single people?

They shouldn't. But if there's 2 people you'd expect them to get twice the benefits, wouldn't you? You don't expect to go to the NHS with your mrs when you've both been in a car crash and be told, sorry you're only getting treatment for 1 person even though you are a couple.
 
They shouldn't. But if there's 2 people you'd expect them to get twice the benefits, wouldn't you? You don't expect to go to the NHS with your mrs when you've both been in a car crash and be told, sorry you're only getting treatment for 1 person even though you are a couple.
What about 3 mates sharing a house?
 
And that is why it’s so difficult to find the perfect solution. How would you distinguish, in a couple, who is staying home for a lifestyle choice and who is staying home because of illness. The tax system cannot possibly copewith that
 
Let me try again, because amazingly, you still don't seem to have grasped it.

Next door has 2 adults (and until recently 2 kids). They use 2 lots of NHS, roads and everything else you mention. They have 2 incomes.

Our household has 2 adults in it. We also use 2 lots of NHS, roads and everything else. We use the same as them. Our income is the same as theirs.

But we pay £12,000 more in tax every year than they do.

Get it now?

I got it straight away.

You say "we" are paying more tax - you are paying more tax not "we" - one of you pays zero tax per year.

Like I said, you are paying tax and your partner isn't yet you both get use of the NHS, roads etc - what about the single person earning the same as you - only getting one NHS number out of the deal, can only ride their bike down one raod at a time .... why should they pay the same as you?
 
They shouldn't. But if there's 2 people you'd expect them to get twice the benefits, wouldn't you? You don't expect to go to the NHS with your mrs when you've both been in a car crash and be told, sorry you're only getting treatment for 1 person even though you are a couple.
Having one person not working is a luxury though, unless circumstances prevent them doing so, in which case they should be able to claim benefits to help shoulder the costs.

I can't see a fairer system than a personal tax allowance.
 
Morally most people don’t have a problem being taxed. What gets my back up is when it’s squandered on things like foreign aid. Not talking about feeding the starving, or helping after a disaster, it’s other areas that are nowt to do with us that are given preference over Home charities. Add to this things like huge legal bills for human rights claims where the answer should have been, go back and keep your gob shut, there no such thing as free speech and we have no money available to compensate for hurt feelings. Also cut the waste of MP’s and their enterages going around the world on jollies to “see how it’s done” and many more examples, the military buying the wrong kit that won’t work and at vastly inflated prices etc there is so much money squandered. I sometimes wish we lived in a technocratic society where decisions would be based on facts rather than politics.We would then not have to rely on the odd useless bunch of MP’s from all parties.
 
With the best will in the world, it's impossible to design a tax system that irons out all inequalities and unfairness. It's a blunt instrument. My business is a service exporter. It quite literally takes money from abroad and pulls it into the United Kingdom. I could categorise myself as a national benefactor, adding to the national wealth and GDP. So surely I should be recognised for that and taxed at a lower level, right?

Except of course that's neither feasible (nor, I would say, socially desirable), but you can make the point that perhaps it strictly should be the case.
 
I got it straight away.

You say "we" are paying more tax - you are paying more tax not "we" - one of you pays zero tax per year.

Like I said, you are paying tax and your partner isn't yet you both get use of the NHS, roads etc - what about the single person earning the same as you - only getting one NHS number out of the deal, can only ride their bike down one raod at a time .... why should they pay the same as you?
Because they only have one lot of costs, one mouth to feed, one person's holiday to pay for, one car to run. We have two lots of those things. We are worse off, we only have half the income (each) compared to a single person earning the same amount.

And I am still not sure you've got it, because you keep going on about my wife who pays zero tax per year. But I pay my tax, AND her tax AND an extra £12k. Compared to a couple earning the same.

The couple has the same income, same costs, same use of public services, same EVERYTHING and yet pay £12k less per year in tax, simply because their income is divided 50-50 and ours is 100-0. If i was able to pay my wife 50% of my gross salary (as an expense), then that would fix it at a stroke. I'd earn half the amount and she'd earn the other half and have to pay tax. But this is not allowed.
 
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