A Political Thread

[McTallshort]

I deal with a lot of self-employed clients doing their self-assessment returns. It will help them that the Government have deferred the July tax payment, but it'll leave you and them with a large payment to pay next January especially as most self-employed have an accounting year-end based on 31 March 2020/5 April 2020. Even worse if your accounting year-end is say 31 December 2019 or even earlier and would have earned before this virus really impacted here.

So looks like between now and January next year when most self-employed will go into their new financial year that business will suffer a great deal and cash flow will be a problem. Then come January next year if the deadline remains the 31 and you need to pay your tax bill it'll be a big tax bill consisting of your balancing 2019/20 liability (less the first payment on account paid January only rather than previous years when you had two instalments to offset before arriving at your balancing tax bill) and also the first payment on account for 2020/21 - although for most this will be reduced because businesses will likely have had a **** year for 2020/21. So still worth planning ahead so you're not caught short when the taxman comes a calling for it next January. Although I expect HMRC to be more lenient in allowing time to pay arrangements to be put in place for longer than they usually agree to, especially if you've had one before.

Sooner or later what the Government borrow now to fund this crisis will have to be repaid back later in big tax rises. This is 2008 financial bailout all over again and probably worse IMO.

Yeah thanks for that!

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

I deal with a lot of self-employed clients doing their self-assessment returns. It will help them that the Government have deferred the July tax payment, but it'll leave you and them with a large payment to pay next January especially as most self-employed have an accounting year-end based on 31 March 2020/5 April 2020. Even worse if your accounting year-end is say 31 December 2019 or even earlier and would have earned before this virus really impacted here.

So looks like between now and January next year when most self-employed will go into their new financial year that business will suffer a great deal and cash flow will be a problem. Then come January next year if the deadline remains the 31 and you need to pay your tax bill it'll be a big tax bill consisting of your balancing 2019/20 liability (less the first payment on account paid January only rather than previous years when you had two instalments to offset before arriving at your balancing tax bill) and also the first payment on account for 2020/21 - although for most this will be reduced because businesses will likely have had a **** year for 2020/21. So still worth planning ahead so you're not caught short when the taxman comes a calling for it next January. Although I expect HMRC to be more lenient in allowing time to pay arrangements to be put in place for longer than they usually agree to, especially if you've had one before.

Sooner or later what the Government borrow now to fund this crisis will have to be repaid back later in big tax rises. This is 2008 financial bailout all over again and probably worse IMO.

The slight difference is the 2008 bailout went to banks and vast sums of that did not feed through to the rest of the population. What they are doing here (having the fund go directly to the people) is a better way of doing it IMO. Yes it will need to be paid back but ultimately the timescales for being paid back can be adjusted by the government whereas the timescales and the amount required to prevent an economic meltdown cannot. There is nothing to say that all the money spent supporting the country through this year must be paid back in full next year.

TBH this is basically how Keynsian economics is supposed to work, you slowly build up reserves during the good years so you can fund the bad years.

 

[Which Tyler]

Credit where it's due: the 80% from the Tories is far better than I ever expected from them - better than I would have expected from any government really.


I do hope they announce something for the self employed though - beyond the delay in paying taxes.
My parents own their own business and work at the big agricultural shows/game fairs etc. and all of those have been cancelled or postponed - luckily Crufts went ahead so they could work there, but it's looking like a year to rival foot and mouth for them/everyone else in the same industry.

As you say, credit where it's due - since changing track and going for actually trying to flatten the curve, and measuring the data - they've been excellent at taking measures to do so - and excellent in providing more-or-less the right support when they've turned their eyes on sections of society. Slight hiccough with the "don't go to bars, but bars, shouldn't close" thing, but I think that was a simple misjudgement of behavious,and mistakes are allowed, especially if corrected fairly quickly.

As for self-employed - I'm sure they'll get to us, but we're probably the most difficult group to cover as our earnings can flucuate so much more than anyone on PAYE, especially since zero-hours contracts became a thing.

Personally, we SHOULD get the £10k grant for small businesses recieving rates relief - which will help massively, though I can't help noticing that it won't even be looked at until after another batch of monthly payments has gone out.
On a financial perspective, I earned barely more this week than I would have on sickness leave - with 4 paying patients (typically around 20). If it hadn't been for who those patients were, I'd have closed a few days ago - as it is, I plan to stay open for urgent cases (and NHS staff) only. Basically, I see "doing my bit" to include keeping people away from NHS services whilst they're busy with more important things. Those 4 patients this week included 1 nurse who's back to work today, a full 2 weeks earlier than her sick note; and a now-stay-at-home dad who can now pick up his 2 year old. Both directly help the NHS.

 

[Which Tyler]

 

[General Melchett]

Not the Tories biggest fan but Rishi Sunak has acted decisively and come across well in the media considering how much he's been thrown in at the deep end in his first few weeks of the job. That aside, I am thankful for two things:

A - This virus wasn't around in 2008 during the banking crisis and
B - Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell aren't in charge of the country right now

 

[Bada-Bing!]

The slight difference is the 2008 bailout went to banks and vast sums of that did not feed through to the rest of the population. What they are doing here (having the fund go directly to the people) is a better way of doing it IMO. Yes it will need to be paid back but ultimately the timescales for being paid back can be adjusted by the government whereas the timescales and the amount required to prevent an economic meltdown cannot. There is nothing to say that all the money spent supporting the country through this year must be paid back in full next year.

TBH this is basically how Keynsian economics is supposed to work, you slowly build up reserves during the good years so you can fund the bad years.

Oh, I am not saying it all has to be paid back all next year when the crisis passes, but that whatever tax is deferred now will have to be paid back later whether thats over the course of next or two parliaments. Next financial year is gonna be the worst as the crisis really hits home. Yeah good point about going directly to people rather than banks. What can't be calculated in monetary terms is the goodwill these measures have brought this government. In 5 years time they will be reminding voters what they did for sure and want to be paid back through the electoral ballot box.

 

[The Seeker]

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

Oh, I am not saying it all has to be paid back all next year when the crisis passes, but that whatever tax is deferred now will have to be paid back later whether thats over the course of next or two parliaments. Next financial year is gonna be the worst as the crisis really hits home. Yeah good point about going directly to people rather than banks. What can't be calculated in monetary terms is the goodwill these measures have brought this government. In 5 years time they will be reminding voters what they did for sure and want to be paid back through the electoral ballot box.

This feels like it could be either a massive success or a massive disaster for the Tories. For all our sakes I hope they handle it well and it's a success; the one caveat to that translating at the ballot box is that it's very early in the term and by the next election we may have been virus free for 3 years but still be carrying the economic millstone of what we're having to spend now. People have short memories.

Is the Labour leadership race still going on?

 

[duncanb]

Financial crash took 12 yrs to recover from we were just moving to full employment large tax revenues increases in government spending.
Low interest wages above inflation.
The Financial outcome will last as long for me the hardest hit aren't the lower paid as there wage is in Government lines reflecting minimum wage.
Its ex uni students taking on debt where there will be excess supply to demand.
Any sense do an Apprenticeship in a field of need or become an Engineer.
Being totally harsh maybe alot of high paid public service pensions may longer being paid.
That comment is a debate for the future.

 

[Amiga500]

Not the Tories biggest fan but Rishi Sunak has acted decisively and come across well in the media considering how much he's been thrown in at the deep end in his first few weeks of the job. That aside, I am thankful for two things:

Yeah, Sunak and the treasury are navigating a helluva storm right now and making a fair fist of it. Can't blame them if they make a mistake here or there given their in the middle of a tsunami.

OK, its gonna cost a fortune to enact these measures - but it'd cost a far bigger fortune if they didn't.

 

[Reiser99]

While I can't completely verify the accuracy of the incident, apparently the Governor of Pennsylvania had to force GameStop shops to close as they tried to say they were an essential business and should remain open. I have found a couple of articles that reference GameStop finally closing stores, but nothing about this particular incident.
https://kotaku.com/gamestop-finally-closes-stores-to-customers-1842440935

However what is a fact is that on the Facebook group where I saw this was a comment:
"I don't give a flying **** if it's essential, it is a private owned business protected by the first amendment. It is illegal to restrict business operations based on health concerns unless they are in the food business."

To which my response was:
"Honestly I thought this comment was one of the most ridiculous things I'd ever heard and then I realised this is the country that is happy to let people get shot to keep an amendment going, so why not let a game shop open so more people can die from disease. Seems like American logic (not all Americans)."

His reply:
"It's the right of freedom to choose not that of a dictatorship saying you will do this."

So apart from the fact that he would rather have his freedom than help stop a pandemic, it does raise an interesting question. At what point should people's freedom be taken away to combat this virus, if at all?

 

[TRF_Olyy]

I know it's just the loud miniscule minority but I've seen quite a few social media posts of people saying to ignore the government lockdown because it's trying to take away their "freedom"

Stars and stripes nuts are crazy

 

[pagliaccio_euforico]

grew up in PA, most of my friends and family are still there. Apparently state police are out enforcing non-essential stores to close. Gamestop being open was a shame.

Americans and Australians are gonna get hit the hardest cause they don't like listening to other people. Americans are unable to admit that they aren't an expert on everything. We had a shitload of people in DC this week crammed together to look at cherry blossoms. I'm currently in North Carolina and most places are closed. I live in a city however, the more rural places are going to be folks who don't care for regulations.

 

[Reiser99]

More about the inspirational leadership of our government as reported in the Sunday Times. I generally believe there is no smoke without fire and this is exactly the kind of thing Cummings would do.

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/p...vPn0Cr0r8WGVbCa-P94q1jTHOQK59lalKR_g_MP8aIdhg

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

Pandemics and extremely individualistic and selfish attitudes do not go well together.

 

[The Seeker]

 

[Bada-Bing!]

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My thoughts and sympathies for every American poster on here that you have this Buffoon as your President. I hope that your state Governors are ignoring him and keeping you and your fellow Americans safe.

 

[Gavin]

The epitomy of Northern Ireland.

On the main radio show, the Nolan Show, the main guest is agricultural minister Edwin Poots who is on to talk about how people should follow guidance and deal with the virus.

This is the same Edwin Poots who is a young-earth creationist and believes that the earth is 4000 years old....

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

.

My thoughts and sympathies for every American poster on here that you have this Buffoon as your President. I hope that your state Governors are ignoring him and keeping you and your fellow Americans safe.

He was parroting words from Fox news again, ******* cretin.

 

[The Seeker]

.

My thoughts and sympathies for every American poster on here that you have this Buffoon as your President. I hope that your state Governors are ignoring him and keeping you and your fellow Americans safe.

Trump hates our Governor. He hates Californians in general. Our Governor (Gavin Newsom) has been proactive and spoke out against Trump's lackadaisical approach to this pandemic. And buffoon is putting it nicely, Trump's a straight up A-hole!