The UK is a relatively lightly taxed country – and it shows
Oh aye?
The UK is much less lightly taxed than, say, Germany, the Netherlands and France.
As the OECD notes:
The OECD average tax-to-GDP ratio rose slightly in 2017, to 34.2%, compared to 34.0% in 2016. The OECD average is now higher than at any previous point, including its earlier peaks of 33.8% in 2000 and 33.6% in 2007.
OK. So, UK taxation?
Britain is on track this year for the highest tax burden since 1969-70, at 34.6 per cent, according to forecasts released by the Office for Budget Responsibility alongside last month’s budget.
Aren’t we, err, averagely taxed?
The questions are obvious. The first is whether our light taxation is worth it: we are getting dire services and poor social protection as a result.
Actually, if we’re paying about the same and getting worse shouldn’t we be having a vociferous work or two with the fuckwits doing the spending?
Even by the OECD slightly different definition we’re still mid-list.
Any acolyte of MMT knows that tax doesn’t fund spending, spending funds itself and that the purpose of tax is to skim away the inflation that printing money would otherwise create.
So we can tell whether the tax burden is too heavy or too light by looking at inflation. If tax were indeed too light, we would have soaring inflation.
We do not have soaring inflation.
Therefore we must conclude, with regret, that Spudda is talking rot.
@aaa – that’s not fair – defeating the “professor”potato by using his own logic. As anyone knows MOAR TAX = double plus good.
Tim
I thought this was the best point:
‘Third, the question has to be asked as to why such large disparities between states exist. That is an issue I will be returning to.’
there’s an undercurrent of real menace in that statement – lest we forget what someone of far less means than the Murph managed to achieve in three decades after being destitute in 1909 (albeit he was rather younger) – but who knows what rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches toward Ely to be born again
The first is whether our light taxation is worth it: we are getting dire services and poor social protection as a result.
That’s true – we could have heavier taxation with dire services and poor social protection.
“The UK is much less lightly taxed than, say, Germany, the Netherlands and France.” Surely less lightly taxed means more heavily taxed. Or has the professor outwitted me!
John, yes indeed LOL!
However, those who insist on precision in language from the writings of those who once practised as tax advisers are, candidly, timewasting trolls and pendants, obsessed with the trivial.
and how long before under the guise of ‘level playing field’ anti-compete rules the EU starts insisting on U.K. having same tax level as France etc.
I wonder how much of their high minimum wage is wiped out by tax, would be interesting to compare take home pay for minimum wage earners not just the headline hourly rate
The tuber won’t stop until the Brits are blocking motorways in yellow vests. That’s where higher taxation ends.