"Keith G" wrote

But the problem with piling taxes onto 'inescapables' like petrol is that
it unfairly hits the poor hardest and can add to their hardship which in a
modern/enlightened, civilised and supposedly 'affluent' society is not
acceptable. It certainly increases the chances of that car which has just
rear-ended you having no insurance cover...!!

The burden of taxes need to be borne equally between people at different
affluence levels and the rich must expect to pay more pro rata if they are
to continue to enjoy their priveleges and live amongst ordinary people.


And:

That said, fie were made President of this Sceptered Isle I would abolish
Income Tax in favour of taxes on property, goods and services. High Income
Tax (a temporary measure brought in to pay for the Boer War or summat -
from memory) simply drives skill and talent abroad and deters
international companies from establishing themselves here.

Were those two *really* written by the same person?

Abolishing income tax would either require a substantial rise in indirect
taxes or a drastic reduction in tax-funded services, either of which would
have a disproportionate effect on the less well off.

And isn't there a conflict between wanted to load the tax burden onto
indirect taxes, yet exempt road fuel duty?

Unlike you I'm not convinced that the country's economic wellbeing is so
tightly linked to the presence of a few high-earning superstars. Talent is
not that rare, and if the superstars go abroad perhaps that will create
opportunities for new talent to come through here.

As for international companies; where they are based means increasingly
little in a globalised world. It means little if their nominal HQ is in some
tax haven somewhere, what matters is where their production facilities are,
and where their customers are.

David.