I haven't tuned in to any of the live debates nor am I clued up of the plans Mr Brown, Mr Cameron or Mr Clegg plan to implement should they make it into the head chair of Prime Minister. I probably really should take an interest because now it isn't just me I have to think about. I have to think about my children and their future.
I suppose I'm like everyone. I'd like to earn more money and pay less tax. I'd like for fuel to be cheaper, council tax to be cheaper, food shopping to be cheaper. I'd like for us to be greener. But for the economy to grow and remain strong we need to give in order to receive. I attended a workshop recently and it was really interesting. It looked at how the Government uses our taxes and how implementing changes can see us come out of a recession or control a boom session. For example in a recession they would look to decrease our taxes so we would be able to spend more and in a boom period they would increase our taxes so we wouldn't be spending as much.
If I were running the country, I'd like to see the following: -
- A higher earnings allowance for those on lower incomes
- Higher taxation on those earning a high salary (sorry sure that one wouldn't make me very popular!)
- Higher road tax on those with luxury cars, gas guzzlers and those cars which have been modified to have exhaust pipes the size of elephant feet (The last one is just purely because I hate those damn cars especially at 2am!!!)
- Different rates of VAT - for example cigarettes and alcohol would have a higher VAT than say your essentials like bread, eggs and milk.
- Keep the £! No way to I want to move into Euro, just for the sheer Britishness of the £. Plus Duty Free would be no fun!
- On the back of Duty Free I'd make everything VAT free at Christmas time! (This one is just pure fantasy and would never work but would definitely be fun!)
- Reduce the age of nursery starts to 2 as an option to parents needing to go back to work and who can't afford childcare.
- Restructure the Tax Credits system (This is a fantastic benefit when it works, but when it goes wrong it goes terribly wrong!)
- I'd love it if our nurses, teachers, health visitors etc could earn half of what those footballers and pop stars earn. I'm not saying that footballers don't do anything for the country but their careers are by no means on the same level as those in our NHS hospitals or our schools.
- I'd scrap tuition fees but again, this is just a fantasy and totally unrealistic. If they could be capped at a certain amount that would be good and might make it easier for those less fortunate to get into university.
- Bring those troops fighting back home sooner rather than later!
- Free heating costs for the elderly during the winter months
- Quaterly face to face reviews for those who are not working and are on benefits, just to make sure no one is playing the system
