Originally Posted by MSS (Post 2937515)

Ian - I think your case is an exceptional one. There will always be exceptional cases.

But surely, you cannot object to my thoughts on the increasing diparity between the earnings and wealth of the wealthy relative to the bottom 25% or even the average earner. The only way to address this is to heavily tax the wealthy and wealth. There is no justification for anyone earning more that £100k PA when a technician with a science degree working in a school or college earns about £15k PA.

Originally Posted by macafee2 (Post 2937408)

MSS is that an attack on the "rich", you seem to make your comments as blanket statements, covering one and all. So I want you to explain why I should be heavily taxed on my rental property. Before you answer please read on.
4 1/2ish years ago my sister became homeless, my wife and I put up the money for her security deposit so she could get a rental property and became the guarantors for the rent.
It was more then she could comfortably afford so when I retired I took my lump sum and my wife an I bought her a house to live in, the rent was about £200 less then "commercial" rent. It is now £300 below "commercial" rate

We gave her almost £600 towards decoration, it was the security deposit money.
In the years we have had the property we have done all our legal responsibilities, we have also put in a new boiler, new facia and this year had planned to put in a new bathroom.
Spending more money to make the house better for her, not filling our wallet with loads of wonga.
We are still out of pocket as we have not got our fees back let alone purchase price.
When a battery goes in my smoke detector I have to pay for a new battery, if a battery goes in her smoke detector she calls me. If one of my taps starts dripping I have to pay to fix it, if one of her taps starts dripping she calls me.
I have to pay the maintenance on two homes!

I can no longer "afford" to lend my daughter money. If my son wants to borrow money we are stuffed. This is because
my cash has been spent on my sister. What signal does that send to my wife and children that I spent so much money on my sister and not them?

Before this, long before this, my wife and I would send her money to help her get get through the month and it was at about this time, my wife, I found out years later, would sit down stairs crying when I had gone to bed as she did not know how we would pay our bills.

So tell me, why should I be heavily taxed for having a rental property where the above applies?
Please please when you make your comments could you please consider there are people already supporting the less well off?

macafee2

Originally Posted by macafee2 (Post 2937544)

I can understand the query between pay, one that I have asked myself. I think a 100k is low. I do feel we need to up the minimum wage but is £15 to much?
Hopefully you and I can find middle ground. There are wages that are on the face of it ridiculous but how do you compare an office cleaner to a surgeon when it comes to pay? A loaf of bread and a tube of toothpaste costs the both the same

15k seems low, what do they do and how many hours do they work?

We have professions that we under value.
We have people that make it into the top 5% of wealth by hard work and being careful and not by being high earners
and I hope you will appreciate their efforts and not look to take it away.

macafee2

Originally Posted by Borg Warner (Post 2937559)

Number of my former colleagues earned somewhat in excess of £100k. Boy they worked for it and if they made a mistake people could get killed. Besides some folk need to be motivated and sadly for them it's money.

As for the original point, I don't think it's right. We're looking at properties around the country and the odd one pops up that has a clause in the sale that it must go to a farm worker? Not sure of the solution though, it's their money.