Quote:

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In fact, most taxation goes towards education, the national health service, and benefits for the disadvantaged. All those are things I'm happy to see my money spent on -- I can't make it add up to 70%, only 60%, but perhaps you're using out-of-date income tax numbers?


Don't forget sales tax and excise taxes.


He was including sales tax and excise. The highest UK income tax rate, for earnings over £34,600, is 40%. Below that it is 22%.

Sales tax is 17.5%, but doesn't apply to things like food.

That said the effective tax on fuel is too scary to calculate, given that the excise far out ways the cost of the fuel itself.

The top income tax rate was at one time 60%, back in the 1970s I think. If they did that again now there would be a mass exodus of the rich to other countries.

Edit:

Ok, I decided I would calculate the true cost of fuel tax, using this website:

http://www.abd.org.uk/fuel_tax_calculator.htm

The end result is that with the 20,000 miles a year that I drive, the tax on the fuel I used amounts to an extra 3.83% on income tax. Ouch !


Edited by andy (22/04/2007 07:04)
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