Gideon will cut the 50p tax rate, if he didn't want to be unpopular he wouldn't have raised VAT in the first place.

@ alanm
So why compare the 50% income tax rate here with the income and other hidden tax rates there, effectively comparing different rates.
My swedish mate has swedish friends who left well paying jobs in the UK saying tax was less in sweden, My mate is thinking of following. So who's right or wrong?- what i do KNOW is you wrote the tax rate is around 80%, now you're calling it hidden taxes as well- please, what exactly do u mean by those?
p.s. i apologise for losing it on the swearing- i had been looking for this thread for 2 days, embarrasingly, it was on my mind that there gad been an overeaction.

@ alanm-
80% in sweden- weird, my swedish mate isn't aware of that...Ah yes, another leftie on this website talking bollox- not sure what his point was, some shite about people not being able to get jobs cos they've had the confidence knocked out of them. Yes that does happen when moronic successions of labour ministers and economic policy advisors bring the country, in conjunction with other moronic regimes round the world, to the brink of a finacial catatrophe- so take you're made up LIE of 80% and stick up up you're dumb fat fucking arse you retard!!!!!!!!!!!!!

VAT won't be cut, it's a very efficient tax in the sense that the cost of collection is low, it's why alistair darling did not rule it out, we do need a pro growth strategy. The coalition need to get there skates on, ideally we need to cut corporation and business taxes for the north, provide better incentives for future industries such as engineering (provide all engineering degree courses without fees fuly subsidised, helping our future kids to learn something that will help the future economy rather than mickey mouse courses), reconfigure govt spending so that we move away from admin style jobs to infratructure spend. Introduce a land tax on the wealthy and lowervand simplify other taxes on productive assets such as income and business taxes - income tax cuts should be focused on the lower to middle income range - let everyone earn 20k tax free (this would take a whole chunk of the population out of tax altogether) and get rid of tax credits altogether (there is no point in govt taking from one hand and giving with another -unless you like layer of costly govt admin). These measures are simple but would make the uk much more competitive, but know one has the guts to make unpopular decisions, even if it would help the country.

It may well be pointless to cut it now Luddite, but surely even a Tory-worshipper like yourself would secretly admit it was definitely the wrong thing to do to raise it in the first place. As someone above mentions, it was a lazy and arrogant piece of tinkering.

no vat on fincial trades is because it's impossible to monitor and 'risk prices' can't be taxed because the outcome is not known (like a bet in a way)
Let's take polls a few steps further-
we have 5 yearly polls (or each time someone comes to power) and voters decide on percentage allocations on education, welfare, defence, policing etc...then whitehall administers the budgets. Politicians get WAY less say then, everything becomes less of a political football... I don't think we're ready for something like this yet, unfortunately.... maybe just turn education into a permanent 3 way coalition department, it's too important for the partisan rubbish

Can you post the data source please?

20% vat, 50% tax on your wages. seeing as nearly everything you spend your money on has vat on it and if not some other hidden stealth tax, is there any point in working anymore?

and where does all this money actually go?

no person should pay tax on their labour-end of. its unjust and how people stand for it is beyond me.

Taxation should be based on empirical evidence not public sentiment. The over emotional reactions of a number of you above is a perfect demonstration of why Osborne et al should most certainly IGNORE the public and set tax levels based on evidence to produce maximum yields. It’s fairly well documented that more moderate levels of upper tax charge yield higher tax revenues which is why they are talking about dropping it below 50% (because at the 50% rate it becomes economically sensible to either a) leave the UK, b) pay accountants to avoid it, c) Not to take it as salary).
The point made about Swedish tax etc is a non sense. They have much lower costs of living, public transport, insurance etc that we don’t have so in effect they can afford to pay more tax, comparing taxation rates from around the world is interesting but doesn’t really work, as each nation has different economic circumstances.
This argument basically boils down to a single point - do you think the state or the individual are more efficient at distributing wealth. It’s almost unarguable that it is most efficient to leave money with individuals and allow them to distribute it as they see fit, rich people are a good thing – a VERY good thing. They invest, start businesses and they buy things all of which creates jobs for the not-so-wealthy.
On the VAT point – yes it’s an easy tax, I saw someone describe it as “lazy” a more appropriate word would be EFFICIENT. They had an amount they needed and VAT was the most effective way of getting it, to get it from income tax (which has a number of administrative steps to go through not to mention allowances and deductions) would have needed far more extensive tax rises and not just on the “rich”. VAT is charged on non necessary goods (in theory) and while the left won’t admit it VAT can be for a large majority of necessities be avoided ( except for, adult clothes for example) meaning the impact on the poor is relatively low even when considered in terms of proportionality as the majority of money is spend on food and non VAT or LOW VAT rated items – if we need proof of this look at when Labour cut VAT – did the economy go into overdrive and boom? No – because it makes very little difference.
Ohh yes, by the way, VAT is ALREADY charged on energy bills but at a difference rate (and was so under Labour)

And financial trades aren’t charge VAT because they attract capital taxes.

Of course George wants to increase the wealth of himself and his rich friends. Period.

If hidden taxes are also included, the total highest marginal tax rate on labour is a full 74 percent in Sweden:
http://www.thelocal.se/17964/20090303/

Ok, so I'm about 6% out here but there it is Mr Andersen. Of course for the first time in something like 40 years Sweden currently has a non-social democratic, centre-right government, which is tinkering with tax rates and trying to lower them but which is not a particularly popular government.

For my insider knowledge of Sweden, incidentally, I go by my partner, who is Swedish - so it's not some dreamt up figure or, as you tautologically put it, 'made up lie'.

Perhaps your 'Swedish mate' needs to look into his own tax affairs a little more closely...?

As for your abusive and illiterate response to my legitimate argument - well, that just about says it all about your right-wingers really: aggressive, ignorant, incapable of sustaining a balanced argument without resorting to abuse. Pathetic.

Vat will not be cut, Conservatives are itching to levy VAT on food and Energy Bills.

afirplay, ever been ill, had any education, driven on any roads, and so on? However I take your point, the rising cost of living is noticeable, why is that? Is is fossil fuel cartels, the rich stretching and squeezing the money upwards, pulling house prices up and forcing everyone to live in slavery, making money from the interest. I don't know. But I do know that it's about f#cking time that top down trickle economics was buried and eminently more sensible collective wealth pursued.