UK Tax - Are we all going to be paying it soon?

As I said, MANY people don't actually receive any benefit from such a system so they would rather be elsewhere. Normal middle class people are always the ones who lose out! I disagree - just because we're not being given giros doesn't mean to say that we don't benefit from our taxes. The great shame is that it also depends where you are in the UK - I happen to live in an area with an excellent Health Authority (free), great schools (free), a pretty dynamic council that has, over the last few years, noticeably ploughed money into regenerating areas of the town (including spending a lot of money on a fully-inclusive playground)... and the list goes on. Yes, i pay what I consider a huge amount of Council Tax, but I still feel I get value for money for it. Were I elderly, I would be able to have my house insulated for free and would be given money towards heating bills. They also get to travel on public transport completely free, which judging by my in-laws and the fact that when I get on a bus here, I seem to be the only fare-paying passenger, seems to be a huge success! As for students, the fees being charged are still subsidised. Talk to international students, who have to pay the full fees! I'm not saying that everything's perfect and rosy, but when I look at how much I pay (in taxes) and what I get here and then what I pay (directly out of my pocket) and what I get in Dubai, the UK does actually have an edge... that's in terms of core services, not 5* buffets! ;)

That's a bit extreme!! A passport is a travel document, nothing more and Chocs01 might actually like to be able to move around the world! I am British but I do not particularly want to return to the UK, it is a shambles right now and I fear it has gone beyond the point of repair, but that doesn't mean I don't value being British. I still have the right to choose if I want to reside there, and right now I just don't agree with the system and don't see any benefit of being there. I see so many of my friends struggling to keep things going in the UK, spending hours commuting in and out of central London to work, and then I read about the Somalian family with 7 children living in a 2.1 million Kensington town house at a cost of 1800 pounds a month to the state for the house alone, then factor in the benefits for them and their 7 children because neither parent is working! And don't even let me start on the attitude of the work-shy/lazy Brits created by the lovely Labour benefits system, is it any wonder that hardworking people do not want to pay into the system, when they receive very little benefit in return! We get very little in return????? Our taxes pay to keep our country (and other countries safe) they pay for our schools, universities and colleges. They pay for our hospitals and ambulance service, they pay for our fire service, the police. Our taxes pay for our roads, street lighting, rubbish collection, our parks and lakes, our libraries, health visitors, free dental treatment for children, help for the elderly, help for disabled people. ETC, ETC The UK will recover as will the US, Dubai and all the other countries going through the recession. The daily mail paints a sorry picture of the UK, the reality is quite different. Wow taxes really pay for all that, thanks for opening my eyes to what us normal middle class people actually receive!! If our taxes are paying for university, then I don't know what the 3K a year (increasing to 9k for those starting in 2011) fees my sister is paying for to attend university then. No help, no grants just the benefit of being 'able' to take a hefty loan that you will still be paying back well into your 30's. Oh yes and that fantastic council tax that must be paid, my grandmother pays one of the highest bands in the country and yet the roads in our nice suburban green leafy area are full of potholes and because they are the not deemed big enough or deep enough they are left! (Lets stick in some new windows and put nice roads down for the council estates in the area though!!) My grandma at almost 80 years old STILL has to drag her bins down to the end of her drive, even in the dead of winter, because they will not (after repeated requests) come and take it from next to the garage, and if it is not there on the footpath at the end of the drive, they simply refuse to take it. Help for the elderly, give me a break, charitible organisations do far more than the Government funds do, so I will donate to a charity of my choice thanks! I don't have kids so free dental for kids does not benefit ME. And based on the treatment and healthcare my sister has received on the NHS, I will keep my private health insurance thanks. She still had to pay for certain things, but unlucky for her she is not a socially challenged drunken moron causing havoc in A&E so she had to wait with a giant oozing abcess and a threat of sepsis while those indivuals were ushered through quickly to be dealt with just so they could get them out of there. Awesome I must say, real value for money! As I said, MANY people don't actually receive any benefit from such a system so they would rather be elsewhere. Normal middle class people are always the ones who lose out!

That's a bit extreme!! A passport is a travel document, nothing more and Chocs01 might actually like to be able to move around the world! I am British but I do not particularly want to return to the UK, it is a shambles right now and I fear it has gone beyond the point of repair, but that doesn't mean I don't value being British. I still have the right to choose if I want to reside there, and right now I just don't agree with the system and don't see any benefit of being there. I see so many of my friends struggling to keep things going in the UK, spending hours commuting in and out of central London to work, and then I read about the Somalian family with 7 children living in a 2.1 million Kensington town house at a cost of 1800 pounds a month to the state for the house alone, then factor in the benefits for them and their 7 children because neither parent is working! And don't even let me start on the attitude of the work-shy/lazy Brits created by the lovely Labour benefits system, is it any wonder that hardworking people do not want to pay into the system, when they receive very little benefit in return! We get very little in return????? Our taxes pay to keep our country (and other countries safe) they pay for our schools, universities and colleges. They pay for our hospitals and ambulance service, they pay for our fire service, the police. Our taxes pay for our roads, street lighting, rubbish collection, our parks and lakes, our libraries, health visitors, free dental treatment for children, help for the elderly, help for disabled people. ETC, ETC The UK will recover as will the US, Dubai and all the other countries going through the recession. The daily mail paints a sorry picture of the UK, the reality is quite different.

That's a bit extreme!! A passport is a travel document, nothing more and Chocs01 might actually like to be able to move around the world! I am British but I do not particularly want to return to the UK, it is a shambles right now and I fear it has gone beyond the point of repair, but that doesn't mean I don't value being British. I still have the right to choose if I want to reside there, and right now I just don't agree with the system and don't see any benefit of being there. I see so many of my friends struggling to keep things going in the UK, spending hours commuting in and out of central London to work, and then I read about the Somalian family with 7 children living in a 2.1 million Kensington town house at a cost of 1800 pounds a month to the state for the house alone, then factor in the benefits for them and their 7 children because neither parent is working! And don't even let me start on the attitude of the work-shy/lazy Brits created by the lovely Labour benefits system, is it any wonder that hardworking people do not want to pay into the system, when they receive very little benefit in return! Exactly! And if she had to "reliquish her passport" then she would be stateless and could apply for refugee status in the UK and probably live in a 2.1 million Kensington home! ...because it's her Human Right.

That's a bit extreme!! A passport is a travel document, nothing more and Chocs01 might actually like to be able to move around the world! I am British but I do not particularly want to return to the UK, it is a shambles right now and I fear it has gone beyond the point of repair, but that doesn't mean I don't value being British. I still have the right to choose if I want to reside there, and right now I just don't agree with the system and don't see any benefit of being there. I see so many of my friends struggling to keep things going in the UK, spending hours commuting in and out of central London to work, and then I read about the Somalian family with 7 children living in a 2.1 million Kensington town house at a cost of 1800 pounds a month to the state for the house alone, then factor in the benefits for them and their 7 children because neither parent is working! And don't even let me start on the attitude of the work-shy/lazy Brits created by the lovely Labour benefits system, is it any wonder that hardworking people do not want to pay into the system, when they receive very little benefit in return! Exactly! And if she had to "reliquish her passport" then she would be stateless and could apply for refugee status in the UK and probably live in a 2.1 million Kensington home!

That's a bit extreme!! A passport is a travel document, nothing more and Chocs01 might actually like to be able to move around the world! I am British but I do not particularly want to return to the UK, it is a shambles right now and I fear it has gone beyond the point of repair, but that doesn't mean I don't value being British. I still have the right to choose if I want to reside there, and right now I just don't agree with the system and don't see any benefit of being there. I see so many of my friends struggling to keep things going in the UK, spending hours commuting in and out of central London to work, and then I read about the Somalian family with 7 children living in a 2.1 million Kensington town house at a cost of 1800 pounds a month to the state for the house alone, then factor in the benefits for them and their 7 children because neither parent is working! And don't even let me start on the attitude of the work-shy/lazy Brits created by the lovely Labour benefits system, is it any wonder that hardworking people do not want to pay into the system, when they receive very little benefit in return!

Nope, and I haven't set foot in the UK for 5 years either. [i'>I'm not married and my OH isn't British anyway. The world is my oyster. I don't think like that. All my family now live in Australia and the US. I don't ever intend to go back to the UK, there's nothing for me there. The only good thing I have is my passport and that's it. edited by Chocs01 on 05/07/2011[/i'> Oh? So why do you want to keep a British passport?? If you think so little of the UK shouldn't you relinquish it? Plenty of people out there who actually value being British. Clearly you're not one of them. edited by lollypop44 on 06/07/2011 Couldn't agree more LP44.

Nope, and I haven't set foot in the UK for 5 years either. [i'>I'm not married and my OH isn't British anyway. The world is my oyster. I don't think like that. All my family now live in Australia and the US. I don't ever intend to go back to the UK, there's nothing for me there. The only good thing I have is my passport and that's it. edited by Chocs01 on 05/07/2011[/i'> Oh? So why do you want to keep a British passport?? If you think so little of the UK shouldn't you relinquish it? Plenty of people out there who actually value being British. Clearly you're not one of them. <em>edited by lollypop44 on 06/07/2011</em>

what if u stay half the year in UK and half the year in UAE? are u a resident in both countries? Nope, and I haven't set foot in the UK for 5 years either. Where would you go if DH lost his job and failed to find a new one? I'm not married and my OH isn't British anyway. The world is my oyster. I don't think like that. All my family now live in Australia and the US. I don't ever intend to go back to the UK, there's nothing for me there. The only good thing I have is my passport and that's it. <em>edited by Chocs01 on 05/07/2011</em>

what if u stay half the year in UK and half the year in UAE? are u a resident in both countries? Nope, and I haven't set foot in the UK for 5 years either. Where would you go if DH lost his job and failed to find a new one?

what if u stay half the year in UK and half the year in UAE? are u a resident in both countries? Nope, and I haven't set foot in the UK for 5 years either.

what if u stay half the year in UK and half the year in UAE? are u a resident in both countries?

Chocs01 And when they do? I really dont understand why people cheat the system, just because you can? Or so the Uk can get any worse? Cheating the system out of what exactly? I'm not there, I won't get a pension, I have my own health insurance, I have zero intention of ever going back to the UK, so why should I pay tax? For what exactly? Quite agree with you! Am all for paying my dues and have never claimed for anything I wasnt entitled to. DH and I have both worked all our lives and when he applied for benefit when we closed our business in the UK (before we came to Dubai) he was told he wasnt entitled as he had not paid enough NI / Tax! How can paying 40% tax and never having been out of work for over 30 years equate to not paying enough? he got nothing and the woman in the dole office seemed offended when he told her that it would have been different had he been from overseas and a different colour! We dont claim anything here including child benefit and dont see why we should pay tax. What benefit would we get from it?

At least you ladies arent from Canada... they can get you for owing Tax even if you visit ONE day a year or having something like a magazine subscription in your name.... sigh....

Chocs01 And when they do? I really dont understand why people cheat the system, just because you can? Or so the Uk can get any worse? Cheating the system out of what exactly? I'm not there, I won't get a pension, I have my own health insurance, I have zero intention of ever going back to the UK, so why should I pay tax? For what exactly?

Chocs01 And when they do? I really dont understand why people cheat the system, just because you can? Or so the Uk can get any worse?

Yeah, they'd have to find me first!

I believe the rules on CB are being changed and unless you are ordinarily resident (ie not with a residency visa in the UAE) you should not be allowed to claim, again sorry to mislead, and to go off thread! no, the changes seem to suggest that you can be ordinarily resident in more than one country, so having a UAE residence visa does NOT mean that you can't also be ordinarily resident in the UK... they seem to be defining "ordinarily resident" increasingly on how long you stay in the UK, how often you visit, whether you have family and/or a home in the UK, etc... This obviously goes hand in hand with gearing up to catch expat salaries to tax.

@DiDXB I think it's being in the UK for 90 days and working for 20 ..... sorry didn't read it methodically!

Sorry to mislead (it's been a long week!) .. I was being facetious as there was a big thread on CB this week and the rights to claim etc. I believe the rules on CB are being changed and unless you are ordinarily resident (ie not with a residency visa in the UAE) you should not be allowed to claim, again sorry to mislead, and to go off thread!

as the article says most expats won't be affected: "The majority of expats are likely to remain unaffected by the changes unless they spend more than 90 days in the UK a year" I believe that's working days, well that's how I read it .... anyhoo if they are in the UK for 90 days they can then legally claim child benefit ... oops that was a separate thread! The article said 20 days, is that right or is it 90?

as the article says most expats won't be affected: "The majority of expats are likely to remain unaffected by the changes unless they spend more than 90 days in the UK a year" I believe that's working days, well that's how I read it .... anyhoo if they are in the UK for 90 days they can then legally claim child benefit ... oops that was a separate thread!

Only at the consultation stage at the moment. Obviously the government is desperate for money! I think both the UK and the UAE governments are desperate for money It wont be worth living here soon. Who wants to pay 2 lots of TAX

Only at the consultation stage at the moment. Obviously the government is desperate for money!