Banks? Tax avoidance? Job Market?


Number2Fan

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How's everyone doing atm?

Been a while in this monetary crisis now, jobs are even harder to get hold of, if you have a job, you're just glad of that, whether you like your job doesn't matter.

For me, I continue to work hard and as often as I can just to get bills paid, and my kids get older every year and miss out on a holiday, or extra curricular activities that I can't afford. But we're not starving, so that's good.

Just still can't see it getting better.

Maybe, just maybe some of these Tory Tax avoiders could pay up and save us a little bit? :)

Plus Wimbledon is on atm which sucks coz now it's on 24/7 so I'm posting this in the hope to get some entertainment a d stimuli.

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It still makes me laugh how they call the government a "coalition", Clegg hasn't had a say at all has he? Just like my grandad said at the time they got in, the Lib Dems have just been used as an excuse to get into power.

My dad has been cut down to two days a week, although it keeps changing depending on the amount of work that comes in. He works for a company that deals with the NHS fitting lead-lined X-Ray protection screening, and those bastards cutting from a service that is so important has dealt a blow.

What astounds me is that both him and my mum have worked since they left school, and they won't get any help at all from the government to try and keep the house what they have worked hard for.

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It still makes me laugh how they call the government a "coalition", Clegg hasn't had a say at all has he?

Agreed. Clegg is a waste of space. He's just sitting there letting it all happen and doesn't seem to be opposing anything at all (which perhaps highlights that ALL politicians, regardless of their party, are all as bad as each other and don't actually give a shit about the country - they're just their to line their own pockets).

Labour were awful. The Conservatives are awful - and the Lib Dems are also proving that they too are awful.

Therefore, we can safely say that this country is rapidly going down the shitter - and not one of those parties are going to sort it out because they haven't the faintest idea where to start.

As for the "Tory Tax avoiders" (that aren't actually all Tories - they're all at it regardless of party!) - they aren't really to blame. If there is a system in place to legally avoid paying as much tax, then, lets face it, we'd all use it if we could. Nobody likes paying excessive taxes - so why pay more when you could pay less. The blame lies with the politicians that COULD change the system so that this tax-avoiding loophole is removed - but they won't, because they're using it themselves.

When was the last time you heard of a poor politician? They're all minted with properties galore, etc. Until they experience "real life" (struggling to pay their gas bills, spent weeks or months down the job centre, or facing losing their home because they've been made redundant and cant find a job no matter how hard they try, etc), then they'll never have a clue on how to run the country and understand how it all works for Joe Public.

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I will just add that no I wouldn't avoid paying tax if I were a millionaire. Especially to the extent that I wouldn't even be paying lower rate income tax, being fired by my employer, pretending to be employed by someone in Jersey who'd pay me a pittance, but loan me the rest of my money as tax free.

No I wouldn't. I wouldn't on the pittance I'm on either, but if I did, at least it'd make a difference to my quality of life, and might somehow seem worth it.

Just because something isn't illegal, doesn't make it right.

Those taxes pay for stuff.

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We got a pay rise a few months back to the tune of 12p, come end of the month I've lost 2 and a half hours, just when I could do with more hours now I've a car to run and to save up money for next years insurance tax mot etc..

That is hate-full. I hope the taxes are not too high in England as I am starting a new job in England in few weeks. I was living in Canada for 2 years there and the taxes there are unbelievable.

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I hope the taxes are not too high in England as I am starting a new job in England in few weeks. I was living in Canada for 2 years there and the taxes there are unbelievable.

We've got the nickname "Rip Off Britain" - that says it all really.

I'm not sure how the Canadian vs England taxes compare - but compared to the USA, we're very expensive.

My best mate moved to America two years ago (about 10 miles out of Detroit) - and he said he'd never come back because he gets far more for his money out there. I don't know all the ins-and-outs in details - but I know that he pays something like 53p per litre of petrol - whereas over here, we're paying at the moment, on average, £1.28p per litre.

When his dad moved to America 8 years ago, he sold his bog standard 2-bedroomed, terraced house - no garage, no nothing, for £120,000 (it was valued at £180,000 but he sold it to his brother at a discounted priced).

For the same price in America, he bought a four bedroomed house with 2 garages, his nearest neighbour is one mile away, and he has a never-ending back garden (literally, he has cows wandering in some days from the surrounding fields).

My mate went over there to coach football (he's a qualified football coach and lifeguard) - and in this country, he'd earn a bog standard £8.10 per hour. In America, because they're screaming out for British football coaches, he earns just under £80 per hour. He does 6 hours work a week and goes to Uni for the rest of the time. Over here, he'd have had to work full time to earn less money - and that would have taken his Uni chances away due to not having the time.

There are good points to this country (such as the NHS, the benefits system should you be unfortunate enough to need it, etc) - but generally, these have been abused over the years, and ultimately, we're paying for it now.

I hate the UK - If I actually had the balls to do it, i'd leave tomorrow. Only family and friends keep me here. I know two people that have left the country to live abroad over the past few years (one to Australia, one to the USA) - and both have said that they'd never ever come back.

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f****** hell Briggsy, I pay £1.45 for petrol here

I don't hate the UK, I would move to Australia in an instant if I could afford to, but I can't and not only that, I'm not qualified in anything that they want in Oz. My cousin is there, I miss her intensely and she says I should paint myself brown and arrive on a boat, then the Oz government will pay FOR me. Which leads me to believe they have a lot of the same issues as the UK. Including and perhaps even causing racism.

I don't suppose I'll ever see her again... :(

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f****** hell Briggsy, I pay £1.45 for petrol here

Sod that! Petrol or diesel? Diesel is about that here, but petrol is about £1.28 here (from supermarkets anyway - £1.33ish from the Texacos or BPs - but I don't encourage them anyway).

The day petrol goes over £1.40 per litre will be the day I stop driving and flog my car. I was very close last year - but decided to keep it. I used to do about 20,000 miles a year - then that reduced to about 12,000 a year, but over the last 12 months, for various reasons, i've done less than 2000 miles - so its no great loss any more.

Petrol is one massive rip-off.

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Well we did have a cheap car each here, but for a good few years now it's been just one car and that's only for my partner to get to work. £200 per month on petrol alone atm.

But what can you do, he's gotta get to work. I walk most places now, often 2 miles but it's too far for the little children yet if we take the bus on a return to the town centre it costs me over £9.00.

Lucky to have jobs though... Lucky!

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Well we did have a cheap car each here, but for a good few years now it's been just one car and that's only for my partner to get to work. £200 per month on petrol alone atm.

But what can you do, he's gotta get to work. I walk most places now, often 2 miles but it's too far for the little children yet if we take the bus on a return to the town centre it costs me over £9.00.

Lucky to have jobs though... Lucky!

Yeah I believe public transport is quite expensive in the UK.

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Yeah I believe public transport is quite expensive in the UK.

Buses are (partly down to the rising costs of fuel - and partly because most of the smaller bus companies have bene bought out by big National Express/Stagecoach type companies that have hiked prices up since taking over). Taxis are a joke too.

People often complain about the trains too - but to be fair, if you buy in advance, they're actually a bargain.

A return to London from Coventry is a tenner return if I get it a month in advance. If I was daft enough to buy it the day, then it costs £90+ return.

When I used to go to Edinburgh a lot, I used to pay £25 return if I bought in advance. On the day, it was over £100. I wouldn't even be able to go one way in the car for £25.

So if you're over here and need to use trains, and you know in advance when you're going somewhere, buy as soon as possible for a bargain. If you turn up at the station on the day of travel to buy your ticket, you'll be stung.

There are ways of 'cheating' the system to get cheaper travel too without breaking any rules/laws. For example, if i'm travelling from Coventry to Crewe, it actually works out cheaper to buy a return to Chester (which is further than Crewe, its the same train, and it stops at Crewe before Chester) - simply because Crewe is classed as a main interchange - whereas Chester isn't classed as a main station. Also, if i'm travelling from Coventry to London, and I need to use the London Underground, then i buy a return to Clapham Junction. Its the same price as a return to London Euston - but it includes a zone 1 and 2 underground ticket at no extra charge so that you can get a connecting train to Clapham Junction.

All very boring, but it can save a few quid. The joys of knowing someone who works on the railways :D

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I live in a particularly expensive place, I don't think the whole country is on a level.

Yeah, the North/South divide plays quite a big part.

Generally, the south of England tends to be a lot more expensive than the north - particularly Devon, Sussex, Surrey and Kent. Devon because its quite nice and generally, its notorious for its wealthy residents anyway - and I suspect Kent, Sussex and Surrey due to its close and easy connections with London.

Coventry tends to be more expensive than other parts of the Midlands (even though its a shit hole!) simply down to accessibility to London too. Two major motorways allow you to get there in an an hour and a half or so, and a direct train route that takes one hour exactly.

The north tends to be fairly reasonable (an old mate worked for FHM magazine and she had a tiny flat on the borders of Surrey - and then sold that and bought a big house in Leeds for the same price).

Generally though, the pay in those areas represents the cost of living in those areas. Pay up north generally tends to be lower than down south.

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I am moving to Mansfield area of Nottinghamshire. I was over a few weeks ago visiting and it seemed nice. Although the return train ticket from Nottingham to Mansfield was about £27. Then the shuttle bus to East Midlands Airport was only £2.

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Although the return train ticket from Nottingham to Mansfield was about £27.

:eek: What a rip off! They're only about 20 miles apart. Half an hour journey or so?

Its quite nice around those parts though. Quite close to Matlock and the Peak District which are really nice and scenic if you're into that kind of thing.

I did a temporary van driving job for 3 months last winter which involved covering a 120 mile radius of Coventry - and I always enjoyed driving around that area (apart from Matlock - the van only just fits up the road in some areas around there - throw in snow and its scary stuff! lol). The scenery is fantastic and the people are generally quite nice and friendly too. Thankfully, I seemed to get that area quite a lot.

I used to hate covering the south-west of Coventry (Gloucestershire, etc). Urgh!

Oh, if you're into your Trance music still, there's still plenty going on around that sort of area too (unlike the rest of England, where Trance is generally non-existant these days) - Passion in Coalville, Digital Society in Leeds, the occasional Gatecrasher night in Nottingham - plus a few smaller nights too.

I dare say you've done your research already though before taking the decision to move here, so apologies if i'm telling you things that you already know. haha

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  • 2 weeks later...

This sums it all up for me: "We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars, but we won't. We're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off."

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