What on earth are Labour on? Have they just gone wacky from being out of power for too long a la LibDems pre-coalition?
> Ms Lamont used the example of someone earning £100,000-a-year getting free prescriptions while pensioner neighbours get their care cut.
Yes, but as I understand it, the extra bureaucracy in making something means-tested just isn't worth it. So you're better off raising taxes for the high earners by an amount that roughly offsets their free stuff.
Yes, but as I understand it, the extra bureaucracy in making something means-tested just isn't worth it. So you're better off raising taxes for the high earners by an amount that roughly offsets their free stuffYes
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Raising taxes would seem a better option, but it's not an option that is usable. Holyrood has the power to vary income tax in Scotland, but no party is going to stand in an election and say they will actually raise taxes.
To ask a dumb question, why is the bureaucracy so expensive?
Here's a proposed implementation, anyone with an after tax income higher than $x doesn't get the winter fuel payment. Then the form asks
are you a person are you over 65 what is your unique taxpayer reference number
They can then cross check with HMRC who already know everything and decide to make a payment based on your tax return.
You could even just make HMRC automatically reduce the tax liability / pay a refund and fire the whole department completely.
That said, I've never worked out why it costs HMRC so much money in computer systems to work out everyones taxes in the UK when Barclays can work them out in every jurisdiction under various different structures and arrangements, minimise over all possible ones and spit out the answer for about 1/10th of the IT spending.
Firstly - HMRC are... not as joined up in their thinking as you might hope.
Secondly - winter fuel payment is a household benefit not an individual one. If HMRC are tracking who is in a household with who their thinking on that matter is probably not as joined up as you'd like it to be. Of course they are presumably supposed to be thinking about this already! But making it means tested will increase people's desire to lie about their household status in order to get money.
Thirdly - some people have a hard time filling in even the most simplest of forms; these people are probably the people most in need of assistance. You have to hire people to help people fill in forms. And tell people they need to fill in forms. And check forms have been filled in sensibly, and do the data entry (even if the computer checks whether the form-filler has lied about their tax affairs).
So, I’m accountant not an IT person so my perspective on this as someone who as watched IT projects in both the public and private sector prove difficult and costly not as a technical participant in them
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> Ms Lamont used the example of someone earning £100,000-a-year getting free prescriptions while pensioner neighbours get their care cut.
Yes, but as I understand it, the extra bureaucracy in making something means-tested just isn't worth it. So you're better off raising taxes for the high earners by an amount that roughly offsets their free stuff.
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Here's a proposed implementation, anyone with an after tax income higher than $x doesn't get the winter fuel payment. Then the form asks
are you a person
are you over 65
what is your unique taxpayer reference number
They can then cross check with HMRC who already know everything and decide to make a payment based on your tax return.
You could even just make HMRC automatically reduce the tax liability / pay a refund and fire the whole department completely.
That said, I've never worked out why it costs HMRC so much money in computer systems to work out everyones taxes in the UK when Barclays can work them out in every jurisdiction under various different structures and arrangements, minimise over all possible ones and spit out the answer for about 1/10th of the IT spending.
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Secondly - winter fuel payment is a household benefit not an individual one. If HMRC are tracking who is in a household with who their thinking on that matter is probably not as joined up as you'd like it to be. Of course they are presumably supposed to be thinking about this already! But making it means tested will increase people's desire to lie about their household status in order to get money.
Thirdly - some people have a hard time filling in even the most simplest of forms; these people are probably the people most in need of assistance. You have to hire people to help people fill in forms. And tell people they need to fill in forms. And check forms have been filled in sensibly, and do the data entry (even if the computer checks whether the form-filler has lied about their tax affairs).
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I *think* some of the reason for the non-joined-up-ness is to stop everyone reading about everyone else's tax details. But mostly it seems stupid.
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Are you thinking about dealing with PAYE?
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