Beware! As of midnight tonight (31/08/09) the British government is adding another two pence of duty towards a litre of fuel.
And if that is not enough, VAT is reverting back to 17.5% and the higher rate of personal income tax for the top earners is to soar to 50%.
Fuel Duty
From midnight tonight the price of a litre of fuel is to rise by another 2p, meaning the average price within the UK is close to £1.10.
VAT
From 1 January 2010, the Chancellor is adamant the current rate of VAT is to rise from 15% to 17.5%.
Income Tax
From April 2010 those of you who are on the top rate of income tax will have to fork out half your salary. Which means 50% of your money goes directly to the government.
What Does It Mean?
A few weeks ago I listened to a football agent on SSN (can’t remember his name) who said many of his football players on his books based in the Premier League were telling him to listen to any offers from clubs abroad. Why he asked? The overall opinion was simple. They do NOT want to lose half of their income to the British taxman.
The other issue for overseas players, and of course the average bloke on the street is the Euro exchange rate. Today I see Sterling is worth approximately 1.10 Euros. In essence, if we continue to tax everyone at the proposed rate, the UK will see a player exodus, plus looking further a field, a business ‘brain drain’.
I am not in practice aligned to any political party, in fact as far as I can see the three main parties are as bad as each other. But why, when many of us are struggling to keep a roof over our head, put a meal on the table and clothe our children does the government have to screw the average person to the wall?
Anyone old enough to remember the riots of the early 80’s will know that one of the reasons for the civil unrest was social poverty.
2009/10
As expected, crime is on the increase with house burglaries, shoplifting and fraud on the increase. Similarities to the 80’s? I’m afraid so.
Who remembers the famous headline from the Sun, the day of the general election, 1993 I think it was when the tabloid published…
‘If Labour win, can the last person leaving the UK, please close the door’. Looks like a similar headlines will be in the making, and soon.
I love being English, I love my Country, nevertheless, when I come to take early retirement (2018) and unless the quality of life improves I can see many of my peers, and for that matter, me, looking at packing my bags and moving abroad.
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