Let’s abolish inheritance tax. Let’s abolish capital gains tax.
Instead, let’s treat all income as, well, income, and tax it as such. Whether you happened to make it from being clever and lucky enough to get a job, being clever and lucky enough to find a high-interest bank account, being clever and lucky enough to invest in profitable shares, or being clever and lucky enough to have a rich granny who liked you when she died.
This seems both fairer and more efficient than the current scheme of treating “money that a person receives based on stuff they’ve done” differently based on entirely weird and arbitrary criteria.
I propose a tax on complaining about taxation, with a higher rate on the use of the word 'coercion'.
It would be entirely fair, in that it would piss off exactly the right people.
If we moved to a "flat tax" it would be a deal easier to introduce your scheme.
…and a punitive 98% rate for mentioning 'flat tax'. That'd make their pips squeak.
Oh well, an Old Labour 105% on "pips squeak".
Sorry, an 'old labour' will be 120% – don't mention 'new labour', that's 150%. Oh nads, I just did.
What about gifts – say someone's parents give them the money for a deposit? Or buy them a car?
I take it that you'd want people to pay tax when they sell their houses? And on the "income" or just the "gain"?
And shall we restore Schedule A while we're about it?
Schedule A is very much still around. Of course, the real problem with John's idea is defining what exactly 'income' is…