Free laptops and broadband for poor families!

[Number Six]

Still not comparable - the laptops are for kids in care or who can't afford them. Self employed get tax breaks and other fiddles when completing their tax returns, i know enough self employed and tax employees to know this as a fact.

Yet i'm expected to pay my tax to allow you to get a tax break on a laptop for your business, and on your petrol etc etc.

Most self employed people who purchase business equipment do so from profits - not from their own salary, although you may be different. Profits they worked for admittedly - but not from their own pockets which is why you got a tax benefit.

 

So the boasts of some employees you know are enough for you to ascertain what is clearly incorrect as 'fact' does it? Interesting.

 

Let's assume your understanding of tax is correct for a moment. I don't get a 'tax break' on my petrol. For every mile I drive my car for work purposes I don't have to pay the tax on 40p of income. As the self employed effectively pay basic rate tax at 28% that means that for each mile I drive for my work (not including commuting, which is 95% of my mileage out the window) I can reduce my tax bill by 11 pence, which is about the same as the petrol costs. Maintenance costs are not allowable as the car is mine.

 

Do you have any idea how much tax a relatively small company pays? The direct taxation alone I paid last year (income tax, rates and VAT) was over 75% of the money I paid myself. And I haven't even added on NI or employers NI because I can't remember how much they were. When you get to that rate of tax we can talk again about you 'subsidising' the laptop that is essential for my work, shall we?

 

What you fail to grasp is that profits an my 'salary' are the same thing. I'm self employed. I am the company, the company is me. If I make £10 one month, that's my wages for the month. If I earn £10,000 then that's my wages. The £400 I spent on a laptop, if I took it as wages, would incur income tax. As it was I spent it on a laptop, so it didn't. I could have spent it on whatever I liked, it's my money. Some of those things would have been taxable, some wouldn't - it depends on whether the purchase is for me or the business. So I repeat my question: In what sense did I not pay for the laptop?

[Cyclone]

Trautmann - You should be including commuting miles if it's to a location that isn't your base.

Since my base is home, any time I drive to a client site (ie most days), I can claim the petrol on that. That's no different to any employee who can claim mileage at the standard HMRC rate of 40p (for the first 10k miles) though.

This is getting a bit off topic, but maybe you should speak to an accountant, it sounds like you are paying more in tax than I'd expect. VAT of course you invoice onwards to your customers, so you may as well ignore it for the amount of tax paid.

[Number Six]

Trautmann - You should be including commuting miles if it's to a location that isn't your base.

 

I do have a base location, unfortunately - and because I can't sell my house I have a fairly long commute for now :-(

[Number Six]

You cannot use a computer in a jobcentre. You can access the JC vacancies but thats all.

 

You can use your computer in your local library for up to an hour a day (not an awful lot).

 

Neither of the schools my children attend offer computers for loan

 

I really don't see why people have such an issue with a programmes aimed at giving people the means to help themselves out of the poverty trap?

 

Sounds like some joined up thinking is needed. It always strikes me as odd that we have spend millions of pounds on school facilities - building and computers - and then lock them up for 17 hours a day in term time, and for 3 months or so of the holidays. Those publicly funded resources should be available for the public to use when the kids aren't using them.

 

The laptop loan scheme was also quite a good idea - I thought more places did it - it's a shame if they don't.

 

I don't have a problem with helping people out of poverty, I just don't think giving away laptops is a particularly good use of the resources available to do that, although I will admit I don't know the detail of the scheme. We should use the resources we do have more productively first!

[Riche]

This FRED seams to forget that you can also get free money, Beds, Sofa's, TV, cooker, microwave, pans, cutlary, carpets, cars and wait for it an allowance for booze if you ara an registered alcoholic. Working poeple in this county are screwed. Gets better if you get yourselve babed up, you get priority housing. My gran worked all her life serving others and never had a carpet touch 4 walls. I wish she was here now cos I buy her owt she wanted. Ive always worked but I was to skint to help her when she was here. Bloody sticks.

[willman]

I don't think you really understand what you're talking about willman.

If I buy a laptop for my business then it's taken out of the profit of the business before tax is calculated. That's not a tax break, it's buying equipment. It would be the same if I bought stationary or an office building, a business expense is taken from the gross income of the business.

HMRC are quite keen on talking to anyone who uses a tax 'fiddle', they like to send you the correct bill plus a large fine. So I doubt that most small business owners employ any tax fiddles.

 

You're assuming obviously.

My point is that any self employed person, fiddles, manipulates or whatever the rules are to reduce tax commitments or buying equipment.

If you buy a 300 laptop and this reduces your tax payable to the Government - its a tax break in my opinion. Along with stationary,fuel,vehicles etc etc all of which will be used for non declared personal usage by lots of self employed people.

Isn't that a fiddle?

[truman]

You're assuming obviously.

My point is that any self employed person, fiddles, manipulates or whatever the rules are to reduce tax commitments or buying equipment.

If you buy a 300 laptop and this reduces your tax payable to the Government - its a tax break in my opinion. Along with stationary,fuel,vehicles etc etc all of which will be used for non declared personal usage by lots of self employed people.

Isn't that a fiddle?

 

You've obviously never had ti fill in a tax return....

[Riche]

You're assuming obviously.

My point is that any self employed person, fiddles, manipulates or whatever the rules are to reduce tax commitments or buying equipment.

If you buy a 300 laptop and this reduces your tax payable to the Government - its a tax break in my opinion. Along with stationary,fuel,vehicles etc etc all of which will be used for non declared personal usage by lots of self employed people.

Isn't that a fiddle?

 

If you work and avoid tax it not the same as those who don't work and fiddle their benefits. The real issue YOU WORK TO BUY THING YOU NEED. Whats a laptop cost 400 cans of Stella.

[willman]

You've obviously never had ti fill in a tax return....

 

Another one making assumptions. Which is why i have no issue in this case with my taxes being used to benefit the poorest of the population.

 

At least i don't get vilified about my intentions with the equipment purchased. If i break it or flog it on ebay for instance.

[willman]

If you work and avoid tax it not the same as those who don't work and fiddle their benefits. The real issue YOU WORK TO BUY THING YOU NEED. Whats a laptop cost 400 cans of Stella.

 

At which point i think i'll leave people of this attitude to play by themselves.