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This is an extremely opinionated article: > People will always support charging more taxes, as long as it isn’t them paying. I would happily pay more taxes, p

This is an extremely opinionated article: > People will always support charging more taxes, as long as it isn’t them paying. I would happily pay more taxes, personally, in exchange for better social care and schools, public services I do not use. > So, next time you see a tax aimed at the “rich” or a company bigger than yourselves, remember it will eventually hit you along with everyone else. This is extremely simplistic and troubling framing, and comes across as a whine. I suspect this outcome was expected, and Her Majesty's Government can sell this as a win to the electorate (look at us taxing the big tech!) while keeping their donors happy. The number of people who do notice/care, and their combined political clout is negligible, and that's the World we live in right now.

logicchains 6y ago
>I would happily pay more taxes, personally, in exchange for better social care and schools, public services I do not use. Do you regularly donate to charity then? In UK it's actually possible to voluntarily pay extra tax, but doing that doesn't seem very popular: https://www.ft.com/content/4b3e6db0-e57a-11e7-8b99-0191e45377ec https://www.ft.com/content/4b3e6db0-e57a-11e7-8b99-0191e4537...
- HenryBemis 6y ago
  Taxes have a ROI. I pay taxes, I get better roads, better schools, better XYZ that is provided by the state. Charity is filling up the gap of state blindness or inadequacy it leaves behind it. charity is the noblest of showing care, but please don't confuse it with taxes. We pay taxes, the state uses that money to build a road, we use toe road to go from A to B faster, cheaper, etc, so it is an invesmtne for us. Charity is to help someone else in need without seeking a ROI (I wish that all children get well and I don't want them to make a road for me).
- fredley 6y ago
  Yes, although charity is problematic: it means priorities are set by those donating (and more by those donating more), rather than by need. All private schools in the UK operate as charities, for example. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eton_College#Charitable_status_and_fees https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eton_College#Charitable_status...
  - spzb 6y ago
    And it's further complicated by Gift Aid. Seems like a good idea on paper : the charity receives your donation plus the amount of income tax you paid when you earned the money you donated [1]. Looks like everyone wins except the tax man and no-one like him anyway. Except what actually happens is that you're taking tax away from things that it would have otherwise funded like schools and hospitals. So when you Gift Aid your donation to the donkey sanctuary you are essentially saying "I value these donkeys more than I value educating kids or treating the sick". Maybe you really do think donkeys are more valuable than kids and the sick but you're making an individual decision that harms the collective population. [1] https://www.gov.uk/donating-to-charity/gift-aid https://www.gov.uk/donating-to-charity/gift-aid
    - foogazi 6y ago
      Can someone gift the money to the donkey sanctuary without taking the tax benefit, so as to not deprive the children, the sick and the military It appears you are donation shaming - saying the government has a better idea of what to do with tax money than an individual donor

logicchains 6y ago

>I would happily pay more taxes, personally, in exchange for better social care and schools, public services I do not use. Do you regularly donate to charity then? In UK it's actually possible to voluntarily pay extra tax, but doing that doesn't seem very popular: https://www.ft.com/content/4b3e6db0-e57a-11e7-8b99-0191e45377ec https://www.ft.com/content/4b3e6db0-e57a-11e7-8b99-0191e4537...

HenryBemis 6y ago
Taxes have a ROI. I pay taxes, I get better roads, better schools, better XYZ that is provided by the state. Charity is filling up the gap of state blindness or inadequacy it leaves behind it. charity is the noblest of showing care, but please don't confuse it with taxes. We pay taxes, the state uses that money to build a road, we use toe road to go from A to B faster, cheaper, etc, so it is an invesmtne for us. Charity is to help someone else in need without seeking a ROI (I wish that all children get well and I don't want them to make a road for me).
fredley 6y ago
Yes, although charity is problematic: it means priorities are set by those donating (and more by those donating more), rather than by need. All private schools in the UK operate as charities, for example. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eton_College#Charitable_status_and_fees https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eton_College#Charitable_status...
- spzb 6y ago
  And it's further complicated by Gift Aid. Seems like a good idea on paper : the charity receives your donation plus the amount of income tax you paid when you earned the money you donated [1]. Looks like everyone wins except the tax man and no-one like him anyway. Except what actually happens is that you're taking tax away from things that it would have otherwise funded like schools and hospitals. So when you Gift Aid your donation to the donkey sanctuary you are essentially saying "I value these donkeys more than I value educating kids or treating the sick". Maybe you really do think donkeys are more valuable than kids and the sick but you're making an individual decision that harms the collective population. [1] https://www.gov.uk/donating-to-charity/gift-aid https://www.gov.uk/donating-to-charity/gift-aid
  - foogazi 6y ago
    Can someone gift the money to the donkey sanctuary without taking the tax benefit, so as to not deprive the children, the sick and the military It appears you are donation shaming - saying the government has a better idea of what to do with tax money than an individual donor