I'm With Stupid
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 6 May 2013
- Messages
- 19,914
You say these things like they're unusual. The USA charges tax on lottery wins and game show prizes. And the UK charged tax on winnings from betting until it was abolished in 2001 by Gordon Brown. As for you unexpectedly high return, for example, on the stock market, it would absolutely be taxed if it hits a certain threshold, as would the sale of any property that isn't your primary residence. It's literally completely normal for all of this stuff to be taxed in plenty of countries.
Ultimately, we've got to tax something. And what's fairer? That the bloke putting in his 50th hour of the week is getting taxed 40% on it because it's gone over the higher rate threshold, or that the bloke who bought a second or third property (or an investment fund bought its 100th), and then sold it a few years later for a profit pays 24% tax on the profit? And of course the person who bought a house and sold it again can claim tax relief for all associated costs throughout the life of owning the property when they sell it. The bloke working overtime can't claim any relief for the plethora of costs associated with making himself employable, be it training courses paid for out of pocket, or transport to work, etc. But not just what is fairer, what's better for the economy? Letting ordinary workers keep more of their income? Or letting someone who is already wealthy keep more of their income? Ordinary people tend to spend their money. Wealthy people tend to use it to buy more assets, further increasing the prices of things like property.
It's worth mentioning that I think we need a rethink in the tax system of what we consider investment these days, and what type of investment we want to encourage. When Nissan says they want to open a new car factory in the UK, that's obviously a positive thing. Or Tata buying up Jaguar, a struggling company, and then within a few years, we have loads of new Jaguar models because they've invested in the brand. But so much 'investment' nowadays is just buying up stuff that already exists, basically contributing nothing to it, and profiting off the fact that there's no competition. It's not investment, it's asset hoarding. Running a train franchise, for example. Buying up energy infrastructure. Buying a huge steel plant, asset stripping it and firing everyone. Or using your pre-existing wealth and creative tax arrangements to undercut every other business on the high street by making 'no profit' for years. I have no issue taxing that sort of 'investment' out of existence, while offering a fair tax regime for companies and individuals that are genuinely contributing to the economy.
