Sebrof Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 I don't think the sales tax really makes that much difference. And it changes so rarely that you can hardly suggest it is used to regulate the economies of the individual states. Sales tax is nothing to do with it. Their income is taxed both centrally and by the individual state. In simple terms, a very similar situation to IOM, except we call them "rates". If you chose to live in Douglas, it costs you more than if you live in Port St. Mary. So over here, since living in a specific area is by choice, they don't call it a tax. (Don't get me started on that or we will be on the TV tax before you know it!) But we were talking about currencies. The individual states do have tax raising powers, as you say, but they have the same currency. I have not seen much evidence that the states use tax-raising powers to fine-tune economic performance. Certainly some states have low taxes, but they don't adjust them up and down in the way currency rates go up and down. They tend not to move. S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ringwraith Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 I thought that the banking crisis was engineered by the regulations dreamt up and imposed by the Bank of International Settlements under the Basel I and Basel II agreements. No. S Yes, forgot to include the key players of Alan Greenspan, Paulson and Geithner and the Community Reinvestment Act and repealment of Glass-Steagall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jehovah Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 Wonder what the crisis will pan out like when VAT is raised to 20.5%? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Goblin Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 You can't just blame specific people or groups for the Credit Crunch (which, given that we seem to be back to "business as usual", would not appear to yet qualify technically as a crisis) - all sorts of people were behind it. Can't even give Bottler more than his fair share! There was a general belief throughout developed societies in never-ending expansion on the back of ever-increasing debt. Yes, the process of securitisation of house finance led to bankers, etc. behaving recklessly but they were encouraged in this by the likes of Bottler and, perhaps most of all, Democratic President Clinton, who set in chain the events which led to the sub-prime debacle. The cause of it all may be best summed up by the expression "the madness of crowds". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Goblin Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 Jehovah - never mind VAT. Things in the developed countries of Europe and North America are going to be very rough for a long time. Not only VAT will be hiked up - Income Tax, CGT, you name it, it will rise. Government expenditure, on the other hand will have to fall with even those index-linked pensions being reneged on from necessity. My main fear is that Governments will try to inflate their debts away. Also, given that this mountain of Government Debt will have to be paid for by the next three or four generations what will happen if one of those generations, not unreasonably, decides they just ain't going to do it? For places like the IoM the business environment is deteriorating and will continue to do so as Big Governments desperately seek to plug the holes in their Budgets with ever-increasingly draconian anti-avoidance measures. I find it amazing that people seem so complacent about the revised ESTD - when its' implications set in there may be mass panic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pongo Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 complacent about the revised ESTD - when its' implications set in there may be mass panic! Easier Said Than Done ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Goblin Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 "Easier Said Than Done ?" - it certainly is, Pongo! I don't know if you are aware of what is going to change in 2011/12 but it's pretty draconian stuff and not easy to see ways of getting out of the problem (without decamping to Hong Kong, Singapore or the like). So far it doesn't seem to have attracted much media attention - strange, given the potential consequences for places like IoM. The following links might be of interest: http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/taxat...ew/index_en.htm http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/resou...2008)727_en.pdf http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/resou...008)2768_en.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manshimajin Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 You can't just blame specific people or groups for the Credit Crunch I blame the massed idiots who took out all that credit without thinking about how they were going to repay it and who believed that their houses were going to keep on increasing in value by 15-20% per annum for ever! The wankers needed fools to lend to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La_Dolce_Vita Posted June 21, 2009 Author Share Posted June 21, 2009 You can't just blame specific people or groups for the Credit Crunch I blame the massed idiots who took out all that credit without thinking about how they were going to repay it and who believed that their houses were going to keep on increasing in value by 15-20% per annum for ever! The wankers needed fools to lend to. You don't really think that do you? People with little money are bombarded with advertisements offering hassle-free credit and easy loans. Businesses spent millions on advertising to dupe these so-called fools in doing something unwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manshimajin Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 You don't really think that do you? People with little money are bombarded with advertisements offering hassle-free credit and easy loans. Businesses spent millions on advertising to dupe these so-called fools in doing something unwise. Yes, actually I do. Of course the regulators and the bankers took advantage of the situation (and Governments LOVED the extra stamp duties, VAT etc etc). So they should have their share of the blame. But for some reason consumers never seems to want to take any responsibility for their own stupidity and contribution to the whole sorry mess. I recall standing in a bank queue as a customer took money out on one credit card to pay off the debt on another. And what about parents who agreed to go guarantor for their childrens' loans rather than saying to the banks - get lost? Simply priming house prices...and making it even worse for the next lot looking for a loan. Or all those people who HAD to have the very latest everything? LDV as you would probably know it takes two to tango...and it takes two to borrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La_Dolce_Vita Posted June 21, 2009 Author Share Posted June 21, 2009 Well the customer's do have responsibility. But it all has to be put into context and understand what is going on. These businesses MAKE a business out of doing all they can to try and get people to take out these loans. There has been millions spent on trying to understand the psychology of customer's, on marketing, and on advertising. They don't just offer these loans - they actively seek to push them onto the populace. Consumerism is another problem - again, for different reasons, it isn't all the responsibilty of the customer's but more so than with lending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whimsy Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 BNP - I heard yesterday that Nick Griffin has two rottweillers (there's a surprise!) And apparently he calls them "Anne" and "Frank". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Jampton Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 and how did you hear this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whimsy Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 It was in an article in The Times - but Griffin has now denounced the content and said the rottweillers are actually called Otto and Belle. A likely story. We need to speak to the Rottweillers to get the truth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jehovah Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 I saw a story saying Griffin is a pikey, love the tabloids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.