Why do we pay so much in this country?

Question

My sister returned from Seattle this xmas and was shocked at how expensive it is to live here, the price of petrol, food, dining out etc. Why do we pay so much on taxes

Answer 1

It is expensive to live here, very expensive. I think it's mostly down to poor management, and the money fixes everything attitude. The standard of living in other countries is just as high or higher than the UK and they don't pay nearly the taxes. Exchange rate has nothing to do with it. Housing is major, way too many people, not nearly enough homes. The roads are not that good in the UK, motorways are good, but get into town. Beside when was the last time you saw your road being re-tarmaced? The weather doesn't get bad enough to do real damage to the roads, that's why they spend the road tax on other things. Fuel duty, don't even get me started. This is out right thieving. Inheritance tax, how can they justify making people pay tax that has already had tax paid on it. Out right thieving. Schools and Universities, new top up fees, but I thought this was supposed to be covered in taxes. NHS, 500 million in debt last year. Now they want to wipe the slate clean and start fresh. So what, the people just have to accept that they pi*sed that money away through, gross mismanagement? And what about next year, do we let it slide for another 500 million. Open immigration, asylum seekers, benifit fraud. It is way way too easy to get benifits in this country, and the tracking is nearly non-existent. Stamp duty, inflation has gone up 25+% since the last raise in stamp duty, so now as a new home buyer it's hard not to have to pay stamp duty, they are taxing you for buying a house and contributing to the economy? Dining out, well the majority of the English don't tip, so the retraunts need to pay better wages to the staff. So this increases the amount they must charge for a meal, overheads are high. 17% VAT, what a ruse. The tax burden in the UK is heavy, and the benifits, are NOT that great or apparent, after all if they were, the UK would be in the top 10 best places to live, and they're not. But other countries with less tax burden are. Yes, Scandinavia has a heavy tax burden but everything rises equaly, the average wage for a Dane or Fin, is much, much higher than the average wage for a Brit. The UK government couldn't govern a bl0w j0b in a whore house, this goes for everything they do, they are pathetic. Not just Labour either, all of them, because they are all the same. PATHETIC!!

Instead of using the pi*s poor example of the US, try comparing to Canada. As the US doesn't make it into the 10 best places to live either.

In Canada you pay 30 dollars a month, 12 quid for healthcare. That includes cheap prescriptions, 3-5000 dollars a year for University, 12-2300 quid. City college you pay by the course, it mught cost you 1000 quid max for a years worth of courses, student loans at 0% interest. It's against the law for doctors not to treat you, it's against the law for them turn off your gas or electric in the winter, it's against the law for them to turn off your water. Some provinces even have government car insurance, and is 1/3 of the cost of private car insurance.

Answer 2

you have to add it all up. Health insurance is a big slice of an American's budget, but it doesn't go to the government, so doesn't seem like tax. Across the EU, income taxes are generally a fair bit higher than they are in the UK, but other taxes (fuel duty, VAT) are lower.

Seems to all work out more or less the same wherever you go. It costs a certain amount of money to keep your population healthy, educated, safe, etc.

Personally I'm happier to pay for that via the state rather than privately. Being healthy and educated is less fun if everyone else within 200 miles is a diseased numbskull.

Answer 3

In order to maintain the lifestyle we are all used to we must maintain the level of tax, although slight savings can be found by good governments or thrifty governments. Do we need to pay billions for a nuclear deterrent? We could save the money and pay less in tax. Do we need free health care? Roads and education cost as well. It all has to come from somewhere. Think yourself lucky you don't live in Norway or Sweden where the tax rate is close to 50% of your wage. They do however have the highest living standards of all the countries in the world.

Answer 4

It's not as simple as that.

While those in the US have lower taxes, there's little evidence that they end up with more at the end of the month. For one thing, wages are slightly higher here too, particularly for those at the lower end of the scale (the UK minimum wage is nearly twice that in the US).

Moreover, in the US they also have to pay for things which we get through taxation, such as healthcare. It's not uncommon for people in he US to pay hundreds of dollars each month for health insurance - and this often doesn't include the cost of prescriptions (which can be very high), which we over here get for just a few pounds. One of the advantages of buying healthcare through taxation is that it is far cheaper overall (thanks to economies of scale).

Another example is university - here it costs up to £3,000 (less if you're on a low income). College in the US can cost up to $30,000 (£15,000) a year.

So it's difficult to make a direct comparison betweent he two without factoring other spending and taxation.

Answer 5

we pay taxes so we dont get a huge bill at the doctors or hospital, we pay taxes so our kids get an education, we pay taxes to support the country and share in its dividends. we pay so we can sleep safe in our beds at night.

this isnt america. we do have a habit of treating everyone the same, doesnt matter whether your the manager of ICI, or johnny sweeping up... you get basic health care and social secuirty should you need it. in america you starve on the street, and youll die alone in the gutter.

america is a divided society. if your rich and white, youre at the top of the foodchain... if youre not, well, its not their problem is it? look at what happened in new orleans? you might think your taxes are high in this country, but look at what you get. or did you simply disregard the first 18 years of life when the state supported you, schooled you and gave you free medical and dental care. and what about when you retire, got enough cash to pay for your triple bypass... a quarter million should cover that bill... no,,oh sorry, looks like youre going to die... here in England we pay our taxes, and believe me, by the time we check out, weve certainly had our moneys worth...

personally, I'm English, and our system of taxation is far better and much fairer.

Answer 6

Everything appeared expensive to your sister because the dollar is weak against the pound, just under £2 to $1. That tells you absolutely nothing about differences in prices in absolute terms.

Answer 7

Because the government are too busy paying for wars in other countries and are basically useless at budgeting.. You will find that people coming from Spain ask the same question as your sister.

Answer 8

You don't have to pay so much. I live in Germany and now have to pay around 40% for tax, health insurance, pension etc and on top of that there is a VAT of 19% on goods!

Answer 9

its a dipshit, its previous our attain to appreciate !! properly, there's a blunders on your information, china will pay us, we dont pay to them. We use to assist iran yet after islamic revolution we ignored them. Iran is the worst place to stay, worst than congo or Afghanistan. Cuba, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Africa, Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, and lot of arab states. a great number of the rustic we paying are battling conflict against terrorism, and can't locate the money for it via their very very own. And in return we getting hate !! Cuba and Russia, are extremely some issues.. we pay them so tht they might close their mouth.

Answer 10

Your city is also probably well tooken care of, better streets better tax returns, good law inforcement, nice schools exedera exedera. It all go's to certian things you might get more back in the end. And also don't forget all those lazy folks on welfare and government assistance