Income tax to go up to pay for the NHS

[Chewing Grass]

2 minutes ago, JoeDavola said:

I have a one month wait to see my GP now. This renders the service effectively useless.

Last time I went was just before Christmas, about a problem that I'm still concerned about, but their response was to take some blood and then never get back to me. No follow ups, no further investigation as to why the symptom is happening, just "well his blood work is fine so fuck him".

That's weird, I can get one in 3 days or less, Mrs Chewy is an expert and knows how to deal with the receptionist on the phone.

Same with the dentist (private) appointment same day if needed and only 50% dearer than NHS.

[No Duff (troll)]

27 minutes ago, Great Guy said:

It honestly makes me sick how we hear the NHS described as the "envy of the world" and it's never discussed if we could do it better.

Best NHS, best bobbies, best BBC, best.....  Sure!  Tell a lie often enough....  Bad for all of us, including the very decent folks working in these places.  Honesty is a sign of real strength and a belief in betterment.

[Great Guy]

10 minutes ago, One percent said:

I’m surprised that you wheel out the free market argument. No, what is needed is to get rid of the clipboard holders (sp RNLI) and put the experts back in charge. 

Where the state sector and private sector compete the private sector is generally a lot better...

Given the choice most people would prefer a private sector house compared to a council house. Russia showed us a command economy doesn't really work... 

What do you mean by "expert"? A surgeon or nurse? Just because someone is good at brain surgery doesn't mean they are good at running a hospital...

[Dave Bloke]

47 minutes ago, Great Guy said:

Why provide healthcare in a high cost country? I'm sure it would be a lot cheaper to fly Brits to places like Spain for routine operations.

It honestly makes me sick how we hear the NHS described as the "envy of the world" and it's never discussed if we could do it better.

Envy of the third world, another boatload has debarked in Spain to come and take advantage of it.

[No Duff (troll)]

Has anyone ever done an honest review of NHS demand and has any semi-professional journalist ever published it?  I would like the data, rather than being told about advances in science.  How much is due to bad lifestyle (poor education, the unfettered provision of cr*p food, etc)?  How much is due to lack of preventative care?  How much is due to increases in numbers who are not paying matching taxes?  Etc.  Then a matching action plan from the responsible person, or their successor if necessary.  I might then sign off the funding plan!

[Great Guy]

1 minute ago, No Duff said:

Has anyone ever done an honest review of NHS demand and has any semi-professional journalist ever published it?  I would like the data, rather than being told about advances in science.  How much is due to bad lifestyle?  How much due to increases in numbers who are not paying matching taxes?  Etc.  Then a matching action plan from the responsible person, or their successor if necessary.  I might then sign off the funding plan!

That's far too logical. The NHS is obviously the jewel in our crown and beyond any sort of scrutiny. Shame on you for even suggesting a "review". 

Just stump up your extra taxes for all those hard working Angels/ nurses.

[No Duff (troll)]

28 minutes ago, Great Guy said:

....Just stump up your extra taxes for all those hard working Angels/ nurses.

Alas, I merely have inherited capital, business profits turbocharged by cheap labour, and the best of everything, including private health care and accountants.  Income and it's tax is for the deplorables!  They must make do with what I give them.  Or let them eat cake.

[Democorruptcy]

PFI troughers 1 Taxpayers 0
 

Quote

 

The company that holds the contract for University College London hospital has made pre-tax profits of £190m over the past decade, out of the £725m the NHS has paid out. This alone could have built a whole new hospital as 80% of PFI hospitals cost less than this to construct. This is not just about poor financial control in the NHS – UK PFI debt now stands at over £300bn for projects with an original capital cost of £55bn.

...

However, the CHPI research also shows up another interesting facet of PFI. Just eight companies own or appear to have equity stakes in 92% of all the PFI companies in the NHS. Renegotiating not the individual deals done for hospitals or schools, but across the portfolios of the companies themselves could realise substantial gains. Innisfree, which manages my local hospital’s PFI and others across the country and has just 25 staff, stands to make £18bn alone over the coming years.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/aug/30/pfi-britain-hospital-trust-debt-burden-tax

 

 

[No Duff (troll)]

7 minutes ago, Democorruptcy said:

Just eight companies own or appear to have equity stakes in 92% of all the PFI companies in the NHS.

Keep going - who ultimately owns these eight companies?  Ours is a rentier economic model.

[Inoperational Bumblebee]

1 hour ago, Chewing Grass said:

That's weird, I can get one in 3 days or less, Mrs Chewy is an expert and knows how to deal with the receptionist on the phone.

Same with the dentist (private) appointment same day if needed and only 50% dearer than NHS.

Ditto - I'm ill at the moment and will be calling my doctor tomorrow morning and fully expecting to get an appointment within a few hours of my call.

[No Duff (troll)]

54 minutes ago, Inoperational Bumblebee said:

Ditto - I'm ill at the moment and will be calling my doctor tomorrow morning and fully expecting to get an appointment within a few hours of my call.

I get a return call from the practice nurse, if I manage to take it, one or two days later.  She asks me if it's urgent, I tell her what it is, and she again asks me if its urgent.  I then get to see a doctor 5 to 10 days later.  It then becomes a lottery if the appointment is of any use.  Presumably game theory says I should say everything is urgent but that's not me, yet.

[macca]

10 hours ago, Sideysid said:

I've finally had enough, I'm ploughing everything over the tax allowance into my work pension and claim universal credit (no working hour threshold on UC), won't be any worse off and will be able to retire 10-15 years earlier in this rigged game.

I hit the magic 60k, so never got those child tax credits.  Anyway I was reading about this the other day as I noticed last year I earned 56k. This was because I upped my pension.. So next election day when I can alter my pension contribution I am going to ramp it up so I get below 50k, This should allow me to claim £2500 for 3 kids.. or something like that.. But since I pay 40% on the 6k I will add to the pension I only see just over 3k of that anyway.. so will only be a few hundred worse off each year in hand after the £2500 tax credits I will gain, but 1000's better off in my pension.. Happy days!

[Lightscribe]

3 hours ago, macca said:

I hit the magic 60k, so never got those child tax credits.  Anyway I was reading about this the other day as I noticed last year I earned 56k. This was because I upped my pension.. So next election day when I can alter my pension contribution I am going to ramp it up so I get below 50k, This should allow me to claim £2500 for 3 kids.. or something like that.. But since I pay 40% on the 6k I will add to the pension I only see just over 3k of that anyway.. so will only be a few hundred worse off each year in hand after the £2500 tax credits I will gain, but 1000's better off in my pension.. Happy days!

Is that with the reduction of 41p of every £1 over £16k of earnings? Also I presume you have childcare costs?

It makes no sense for any young families in rental accommodation with a household income under £45k and under £6k of ‘liquid’ savings (equity in home or hard assets doesn’t count) to take home anything over the £11,850 tax allowance.

As far as my calculations go, by ploughing everything over that into a pension (as long as it doesn’t exceed £40k contributions a year), rent would be paid for, and that added with universal credits would amount to the same I would have taken home anyway. I can then retire a decade or so earlier.

That’s what I seem to be gleaning from the benefit calculators or am I missing something in this lunacy?

[One percent]

Hunt on bbc now. Looking very uncomfortable for some reason. Bet that this idea c@me out of the blue and treasons last gasp at holdingpower 

[MrXxx]

9 hours ago, One percent said:

Hardly world leading. Number 30 according to this

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/nhs-world-ranking-uk-healthcare-worse-ireland-spain-slovenia-30th-lancet-a7744131.html

Those statistics are based on deaths....so perhaps the UK has a proportionally higher number of old/frail people that need ops....or perhaps we have a population of unhealthy/unfit individuals as exemplified by the recent statistics that show we have the fastest growth rate of obesity, greater than the U.S......careful when you read stats.

[MrXxx]

9 hours ago, Great Guy said:

Tbh, state monopolies are generally fairly rubbish at providing services etc. We trust public companies to provide food/ houses etc, yet somehow healthcare has to be provided by an overstaffed NHS....

IMHO, competition in healthcare would be a good thing. You can go to the shops 24/7 and get good quality food at a reasonable price. Yet you can't get a GP appointment at the weekend and you can't get an appointment without phoning up the week before.

The market economy is very good at removing overstaffed organisations that don't provide what consumers want....

What you mean like the railways then?.....or the prison service?...or?...

[A_P]

Just a tip for people and GP appointments. Download Paitent Access app or go to the website. https://www.patientaccess.com/

I can get an appointment same day without fail as long as I login exactly when the GP surgery opens, in my case 8am. Just looked now, choice of 5 GP's with lots of slots. Now If I go back in 20 minutes they will all be gone as the telephone calls take them.

 

[Green Devil]

57 minutes ago, Sideysid said:

Is that with the reduction of 41p of every £1 over £16k of earnings? Also I presume you have childcare costs?

It makes no sense for any young families in rental accommodation with a household income under £45k and under £6k of ‘liquid’ savings (equity in home or hard assets doesn’t count) to take home anything over the £11,850 tax allowance.

As far as my calculations go, by ploughing everything over that into a pension (as long as it doesn’t exceed £40k contributions a year), rent would be paid for, and that added with universal credits would amount to the same I would have taken home anyway. I can then retire a decade or so earlier.

That’s what I seem to be gleaning from the benefit calculators or am I missing something in this lunacy?

What are hard assets? Gold? Shares? Is only cash counted as part of the 6k?

[M S E Refugee]

Its a great idea from the Government to raise Income Tax to save NHS,are there any self respecting virtue signallers who will disagree with such a policy.

[Game_of_Homes]

5 hours ago, macca said:

I hit the magic 60k, so never got those child tax credits.  Anyway I was reading about this the other day as I noticed last year I earned 56k. This was because I upped my pension.. So next election day when I can alter my pension contribution I am going to ramp it up so I get below 50k, This should allow me to claim £2500 for 3 kids.. or something like that.. But since I pay 40% on the 6k I will add to the pension I only see just over 3k of that anyway.. so will only be a few hundred worse off each year in hand after the £2500 tax credits I will gain, but 1000's better off in my pension.. Happy days!

Are you talking about child benefit or tax credits? Just to warn you that as UC is coming in, you cannot get anything if you have savings over a certain amount, I think it is £6k so unlike tax credits which you can claim even if you have a million pounds in savings, with UC you have to use up the capital first.

[sarahbell]

17 hours ago, Frank Hovis said:

 You can look up your record on the government gateway site.

I'm not sure I dare.

[spygirl]

22 hours ago, MrPin said:

It's screwing ordinary working people, again. Some large corporations ought to fess up to their tax liability

You being ironic Pinny?

[Lightscribe]

1 hour ago, Green Devil said:

What are hard assets? Gold? Shares? Is only cash counted as part of the 6k?

Physical gold as in jewellery wouldn’t but I would think coins would. Crypto most likely would too (if your upfront and honest as this would be difficult to trace) You would also have to declare shares and dividends etc. Obviously things like classic cars, and art wouldn’t count. 

[spygirl]

UKGOVs problem is theyve allowed the (income) tax base to become tiny.

All down to that useless cunt Brown and his tax credits.

Simple fix:

Bump TC hours up to 35h/w. Reduce payout to ~10k.

Deny all benefits to non nationals.

Move to a mainly contribution based welfare system. Addign a time limit which will see bare minimal paid out after 2-3 years claims. Put a max 10 year working life claim

Make housing benefit a percentage of local median wage.

Scrap all Browns bribes -winter fuel, free license, pension credit.

 

 

 

[No Duff (troll)]

10 minutes ago, spygirl said:

.....

Simple fix:

Bump TC hours up to 35h/w. Reduce payout to ~10k.

Deny all benefits to non nationals.

Move to a mainly contribution based welfare system. Addign a time limit which will see bare minimal paid out after 2-3 years claims. Put a max 10 year working life claim

Make housing benefit a percentage of local median wage.

Scrap all ...... bribes -winter fuel, free license, pension credit.

Some would say no politician would do that.  I say we're getting to the point where they have no choice.  We've even tried printing the money FFS.  Other countries have had their "come to Jesus" moment.  We'll surely have ours.