Comments by "Michael RCH" (@michaelrch) on "Labour manifesto: Jeremy Corbyn pledges nationalisation and new homes" video.

  1. I run a business. High taxes are actually a good incentive to invest because you can avoid tax on those expenses. Tbh NI and rates are the biggest issue because you pay them whether you make a profit or not.
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  2. The Tories left the middle and working class to languish over the last decade, while the new wealth and income went to the top 1%. It's time for this to end. That money needs come back to public investment and services, especially with a climate emergency underway.
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  3. 13:25 "we have to [mislead while] being careful not to look like we are misleading" The Tories are fully committed to misinformation and lies now. Gove wouldn't apologise for their twitter account masquerading as a fact checking service. They are vile. As the facts aren't on their side so they just create new ones out of thin air.
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  4. WakeyUpPeople Thanks for giving your baseless opinion. I think I chose to believe the entire scientific establishment and the century of research in this field, and the evidence of my own eyes.
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  5. Corbyn therapist It's basically impossible to go bankrupt by investing in infrastructure and education. They generate economic activity and tax revenue.
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  6. Hugh Slooskant Higher taxes do eventually reduce investment if they go high enough, but UK corporate taxes are below the EU and OECD average right now. They could go up significantly without impacting investment. If you want to see a perfect example of where cutting taxes completely failed to increase investment, just look at the Trump tax cuts of 2017 in the USA. They gave over a trillion dollars back to businesses, but investment actually fell in many of those businesses. Investment that big companies made was completely unrelated to the tax cuts they got. Some companies got big tax cuts at invested but just as many didn't invest a penny. And wages didn't rise either, except for executives of course. The companies pocketed the savings as dividends and stock buy-backs. And why? Because it became even cheaper to take out profits. If you make something cheap, people will do it more. As I said, in practice higher taxes (up to a point) incentivise investment because it reduces tax liability while keeping profits in the business. The value of the business increases, the business itself grows and can then hire more people. Plus as has been mentioned above, when companies make giant profits, that money is not going into the real economy- into the pockets of workers who can spend it in their local economy. Money in the hands of workers drives the economy much more effectively than money in the hands of the rich because workers tend to spend everything they earn. Meanwhile the rich either park the money overseas or the invest in big assets like property. All that does is drive up prices without driving the economy at all. So yes, as a business owner I might selfishly want lower corporate taxes, but I am also a citizen of the country and I understand my responsibilities to everyone else. So I would prefer that the whole country does well, not just me. That makes for a good environment for my staff, means that if my staff are sick they get good NHS care, that their kids get a good education, means that when I hire I get well educated people, transport works well, etc. And it avoids the political chaos we are in right now. And if I want to keep more of my profits in the business then I can invest them in people and equipment and avoid the tax on that profit. It's only greedy bosses who want low corporate tax rates to maximise short term returns. Bosses who want long term returns invest and prefer to see the country invest as well.
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  7. MC2 The Tories aren't right wing?! Where do you base your Overton Window? Italy in the 1930s?
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  8. Forza223 Bowe Don't be ridiculous. Raising taxes on the rich and big companies and using the money to build infrastructure raises productivity, raises wages and boosts the economy.
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  9. M Scott The reason so few pay a disproportionate amount of tax is because they have a gigantic and disproportionate amount of the income, That statistic is a damning indictment of the current system, not a reason so perpetuate it. Tax reductions on the rich don't bring in more revenue- they cost revenue. Likewise tax rises raise revenue. I am not advocating anything higher than 50-55% but raising levels from where they are now is totally do-able. If you look at more egalitarian countries like the Nordics they have much higher taxes at the top but they still have very healthy tax revenues because the entire economy and tax based is raised up by proper investment in infrastructure, education, transport etc The rich have perpetuated rubbish about this for decades. It's time we looked at the evidence and stop pissy footing around in case we upset a few billionaires.
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