Sunday Express Comment - VHET

Very High Earners Tax (VHET)

Very high earners can contribute more to Britain and be happy doing it.

David Cordingley – Leader
United Kingdom Popular Democrats (UKpopdems)

Everyone knows Britain is a very wealthy country, the fourth or fifth wealthiest in the world. Despite all the efforts of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, hundreds of thousands of individual Britons are rich beyond the dreams of millions of ordinary people in this country, and still more billions of ordinary folk across the globe. On the other hand, who could argue that the inactivity of this same government has left hundreds of thousands of ordinary Britons suffering serious poverty and disadvantage?

Let’s get off on the right foot, wealth is good for Britain. Wealth is the paper oil that powers and drives the economy of this country. Wealth is not a finite resource like energy or water where someone who has more leaves less for others. No, wealth is organic and can grow through efficiency for everyone. One person’s wealth does not leave another poor, not in most first world countries anyway. If used properly, wealth generates benefit for others through jobs and services.

Wealth ultimately comes from earnings, from work or pensions, inheritance, the selling of assets and other sources. With today’s soaring property market, even those with moderate incomes could well be asset millionaires. But, unlike this government which thinks property assets equals real wealth that should be penalised heavily through Council Tax, most sensible people know that assets only count as wealth when they are sold. Before then assets of every nature actually cost money to maintain. So don’t worry, we’re only concerned with real income here, and very high income at that.

The opposite to wealth is poverty. In Britain, poverty can go far deeper than lack of financial resources. Some believe there’s also a poverty of spirit, love and care, leaving thousands of young and old trapped in disadvantaged circumstances. The recent UN report on child welfare painted the picture clearly when it placed Britain bottom of the league of twenty-one industrialised nations for children’s health, education and family relationships. On the positive side let’s applaud Britain as a country of great compassion where family members, volunteer workers and many vocationally dedicated professionals work hard every day to make life better for millions.

There should be no real poverty in a country as wealthy as Britain. You’d think the rich could directly help the poor and disadvantaged, wouldn’t you? Surely, they do already, don’t they? Everyone knows the wealthy pay far more tax than ordinary people. That’s true isn’t it? Well, no. Britain has a tax regime where, if you are wealthy enough, tax consultants can find plenty of loopholes and hide-aways where money can be salted in order to avoid paying tax. This is all legitimate and legal. After all, it is everyone’s duty to minimize their tax burden. It’s just that the rich have access to experts who can do that job for them. Obscene as it sounds, many really high earners don’t pay as much tax, pound for pound, as really low earners!

Very high earners can contribute more to Britain and be happy doing it. Enter Very High Earners Tax (VHET). This is a magic tax because VHET benefits Britain, the poor and disadvantaged even if people legally avoid paying it! In fact, VHET works better if no-one pays it at all! The less VHET paid the more Britain benefits! No, honestly, I’m not having you on. Let’s have a look at it. VHET is designed to capture all British earnings from whatever source. Where these total earnings are above the allotted threshold, then tax is payable at the VHET rate of 55%. Any tax paid is totally ring-fenced to benefit Britain’s poorest and most disadvantaged, so VHET payers can have pride in the knowledge that they are directly and personally helping those much less fortunate than themselves.

The threshold at which VHET is paid is a wonder of common-sense. We’re talking about very high earners here so the basic threshold is 10 times British total average earnings, about £250,000! What’s more, for employers, the threshold increases depending on the number of British workers employed and their average earnings. So the threshold’s 100 times average earnings for 100 employees and up to 10,000 times for 100,000 employed! Just 10 employees doubles the threshold from10 to 20 times earnings. Employees taken from the disabled or long term unemployed register count triple, so just four employees could count as ten and double the threshold. You can see immediately how everyone benefits from VHET thresholds because those who employ more and pay more can gain more.

There’s even more to VHET because liability can be reduced further through allowances. Any earnings above the VHET threshold can be mitigated totally by directly investing in Britain. This includes buying British made goods and services (or that part which is British), or investing in UK bonds and equities, or donating to approved charities that support the poor and disadvantaged, or investing in approved UK environmental measures. Once again, anyone can see how paying less VHET will increase the benefit to Britain and the British people as a whole.

Anyone reading between the lines can appreciate VHET does not set out to catch legitimate company bosses who, between them, already provide employment for millions. VHET is designed more to encourage the very wealthy who employ no-one, or spend their money abroad, to gain personally by giving back more to the country and people that provides their wealth.

Sunday Express Comment - Easy Visa

We can control immigration and continue to boost Britain’s economy

David Cordingley – Leader
United Kingdom Popular Democrats (UKpopdems)

Everyone knows we have totally lost control of immigration in this country. In the places where the massing millions are waiting to get on the move, everyone also knows Britain’s immigration policy is out of control and consists solely of a wide open door. Who knows how many are coming in, and from where? No-one. Britain’s health and social services are unravelling under the weight of hundreds of thousands of foreign migrants with no means of support. And do you know what? This ‘unfit for purpose’ government is sitting frozen in the headlights of oncoming traffic waiting for us to be flattened.

While Britain’s social infrastructure is being destroyed, many corporate bosses and financial pundits, ‘those people who should know’, tell us we cannot do without immigrants and economic migrants because business in Britain would come to a stop. Not only that, but Britain’s public sector would cease to function. Yes, the very organisations suffering the greatest threat from migrants are the organisations that need them the most. Is there a point we’re missing in there somewhere? Nevertheless, on the available evidence, we need to accept this strange irony and welcome legitimately working migrants to our shores.

Unfortunately, not all of Britain’s immigrants are legitimate, above board and contributing honestly to their host country in work and taxes. No. Many, some would say most, are hidden in the soft under-belly of our teeming cities. Or equally out of sight behind the high hedges and forgotten by-ways of our otherwise pleasant landscape. Despite some failings, Britain is still a civilised country where the rules of law govern, and those who live openly by the rules can expect the protection to which they are entitled. But, for those who lie concealed there is no-one looking out for their well-being. How many are abused? How many living as slaves? How many in danger of physical and mental harm? How many children at risk? When abuse is brought into the light the ordinary, decent people of Britain are shamed and angered.

You know, it needn’t be like this. It can all be fixed simply. It can all start to be fixed in a month. We can control immigration and continue to boost Britain’s economy. It won’t cost billions of tax payers’ money, either, or need fancy untested technology. What is this miracle? No miracle, just a common sense solution Britain can implement with existing manpower. I’m calling it ‘EASYVISA’. Not what you’re thinking, although I bet Stelios would get it up and running in less than a month. EASYVISA; easy, because it’s simple, easy to get and update; and visa, because it applies a measure of control to every foreign visitor and resident.

So let’s summarise. Britain needs to welcome working migrants in order to strengthen and grow our economy, but we want overall immigration controlled and illegal immigration reduced. EASYVISA will do this job. EASYVISA is a card system, yes a card system, but coupled with simple scanning technology your son or daughter could knock up in minutes. Even the Home Office, who seem incapable of delivering anything satisfactorily, could implement EASYVISA in less than a year – surely. All that’s needed is one card design, instructions for completion and a load of cheap scanners from the office shop. Hmmm, maybe we should get Stelios in after all.

The first task is to control legitimate entry to the United Kingdom through ports and airports so we know who is coming in and why. And we need to make it easier to refuse entry if conditions aren’t met. EASYVISA will do this well and initial responsibility for control would be with existing agencies. All foreign nationals would complete EASYVISA (if the government want to exclude certain EU nationalities from this process, that’s up to them) by circling the reason for entry; Tourist; Student; Employed; Contract; Self-Employed; Looking for Work. Additionally for Tourist, Student and Contract, the planned date of exit. Everyone enters their initial accommodation address and contact telephone and for Student, Employed and Contract, their school or employer contact details. That’s it. The passport and EASYVISA is scanned and EASYVISA stapled into the passport.

What this does is provide a first measure of control that forces people coming to these shores to think twice knowing Britain has real checks in-place. It also provides a very neat platform to over-lay other conditions. For example: proof of health insurance and proof of funds to avoid over-burdening health and social services. And there’s the possibility that contact details could be checked. Any permitted agent in the UK can then reference this physical record with the original scanned record to detect unregistered changes or fraud. What could be simpler? This won’t catch false UK passport holders, but it will provide enough physical control to enable a range of actions if conditions are broken.

And here is a key beauty of EASYVISA; it can be changed and even post-initiated. Illegals hide because they are outside the system. Why criminalise unnecessarily when migrants can be legitimised through EASYVISA by appearing in person at any post office or other selected agent. A new or initial EASYVISA is completed and proofs offered where required. All is scanned and EASYVISA stapled to the passport. You have to admit that’s easy, allows control to continue and frees up what resources Britain has to catch those much more blatantly abusing the generosity of these islands.