How the Tax system works

[Guest]

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to £100...
If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this...

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay £1.
The sixth would pay £3.
The seventh would pay £7..
The eighth would pay £12.
The ninth would pay £18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay £59.

So, that's what they decided to do..

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve ball.

"Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by £20". Drinks for the ten men would now cost just £80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes.

So the first four men were unaffected.

They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men?
The paying customers?

How could they divide the £20 windfall so that everyone would get his fair share?

They realised that £20 divided by six is £3.33. But if they
subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.

So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by a higher percentage the poorer he was, to follow the principle of the tax system they had been using, and he proceeded to work out the amounts he suggested that each should now pay.

And so the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% saving).

The sixth now paid £2 instead of £3 (33% saving).

The seventh now paid £5 instead of £7 (28% saving).
The eighth now paid £9 instead of £12 (25% saving).

The ninth now paid £14 instead of £18 (22% saving).

The tenth now paid £49 instead of £59 (16% saving).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But, once outside the bar, the men began to compare their savings.

"I only got a pound out of the £20 saving," declared the sixth man.

He pointed to the tenth man,"but he got £10!"

"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a pound too. It's unfair that he got ten times more benefit than me!"

"That's true!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get £10 back, when I got only £2? The wealthy get all the breaks!"

"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison, "we didn't get anything at all. This new tax system exploits the poor!"

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had their beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and government ministers, is how our tax system works.

The people who already pay the highest taxes will naturally get the most benefit from a tax reduction.

Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore.

In fact, they might start drinking overseas, where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics.

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible

[Black Pearl]

I've nicked that on FB.

[Guest]

I have it on facebook as does Heather and she has people moaning that the rich guy has more belongings so its still unfair

[NannyFerret]

Ah, but maybe the poor fellows paid their taxes when they were working, and through no fault of their own came out of work and need something back.

[Guest]

and they are drinking for free at the rich mans  expense so they are getting it

[NannyFerret]

So even though the poor men paid their dues when they were working and didn,t claim anything back then, doesn,t that mean that they are only claiming some of it back when they needed it? I think the Rich men's money will be going towards the up-keep of the politicians posh second houses.lol

[Guest]

you clearly havent read it then lol

[fuzzyedges]

What I know is that the rich put as little as possable in the pot and dont give a stuff about the pot

The poor dont put anything in the pot and dont care two hoots about the pot as long as there is one

And those that play the game, well the pots not there's is it cos everyone else is abusing it

[FUJI]

I just wish that folks, both, rich and poor would ( regardless of faith) live by good, mainly Christian principles, of helping out as and when required, treating others as you wish to be treated yourself........that said......and after the horrendous 12 weeks I have had ( and ongoing) the manufacturers and suppliers of ALL addictive rubbish, should be made to pay in FULL. For the sheer misery they eventually cause to the addicts they have sucked money from.

I am one of those rare and annoying people who sit firmly on the fence when I comes to politics and religion, the only way is COMMON SENSE and sadly it seems to be lacking in many areas of our current society.

Sometimes I wonder who exactly pulls the strings in the UK especially.......the mega rich Arabs of Knightsbridge Dubai and Qua tar....or ...the Russian oligarchs who seem to be buying up property as though there is no tomorrow......or......the soccer players, golfers, the Blair's, Beckham's and other Nuevo Riche who don't give a damn about anyone but themselves.

Rant over.......can we stick to photography please? ;-)

[NannyFerret]

Well said, Fuji.

[fuzzyedges]

I am one of those rare and annoying people who sit firmly on the fence

 

A wide fence fuji

 

 

Taken at f8 125sec kodybrownak with flashing lamp (photographic content)

Edited April 2, 2013 by fuzzyedges

[FUJI]

A wide fence fuji

 

 

Taken at f8 125sec kodybrownak with flashing lamp (photographic content)

Yes Fuzzy.....the fence of common sense.....it is wide, padded and very comfortable ;-)

Cheers!

FUJI

[Guest Lee]

Wish I was getting something free from the rich man.

After 27+ years of working and then being made redundant I was entitled to 5 months Job Seekers Allowance; not a problem as I would soon be in work wouldn't I? So, here we are a couple of years later and my records show I've applied for over 700 jobs within a 100 mile radius of home and I've had 19 replies and 3 job interviews telling me I'm too experienced for them.
Oh, and my Job Seekers Allowance ran out after 5 months and I was told, with a lovely smile by the woman at the Job Centre (after she'd asked me how to use to her new Samsung phone she'd just picked up) that my benefits from now on would bring me in £0 per month; not a jot, zilch, nothing. I am entitled to no more money in any shape or form, no assistance with anything from anyone in the DWP.
So, I'm one of those the Government have warned you about....a jobless shirker.

[NannyFerret]

I can sympathise with you, Lee, as we have been in the same situation when we had our three kids at home.

.The jobs then were thin in the ground, and I think it's even worse now because of all the car industries etc being moved abroad, and also that the government has let so many foreigners into the country making it more difficult for people to get a job or a house.

A lot of men lose their self respect because they can't get a decent job so that they can pay their way in society again.
I hope something good turns up for you soon.

[Guest Lee]

Cheers Tina. It's a horrible position to find one's self in and self-respect doesn't just nosedive but then shovels it's way deeper into the ground.
I've literally not had a bank note in my wallet for well over a year now; and I've got 50p in my pocket which I've had there since before Xmas....daren't spend it!