Do you consider UKIP good or bad?

You do realise there is more to public spending than the number of police officers?

My comments merely pointed out two policies that don't make sense you can't cut taxes and increase public spending. If you analyse what they promise you look at anything published by UKIP it is impossible to see how they can afford to deliver what they promise.

You do realise there is more to public spending than the number of police officers?

From what little information there is about UKIP's tax policy, it seems like they now want to take the minimum wage out of tax and combine NI and income tax into one, with the top rate of about 40%. Even if we forget about raising the threshold and cutting income tax for a second, NI alone brings in £110bn a year.

That sounds like a pretty big tax cut to me.

One could argue that the extra disposable income people have will encourage extra growth in the economy and therefore higher tax revenues. Also, considering consumption is an extremely large component of GDP in the UK, it is likely most of it would be recovered through VAT.

This is especially the case for low/middle income earners who have an extremely high propensity to consume.

Clearly someone needs to run some analytical models on it though which UKIP have apparently got think-tanks doing.

Posted from TSR Mobile

One could argue that the extra disposable income people have will encourage extra growth in the economy and therefore higher tax revenues. Also, considering consumption is an extremely large component of GDP in the UK, it is likely most of it would be recovered through VAT.

This is especially the case for low/middle income earners who have an extremely high propensity to consume.

Lower, more efficient state and lower taxes is the way forward in my opinion.

Clearly someone needs to run some analytical models on it though which UKIP have apparently got think-tanks doing.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Also as a qualified accountant It's also fair to say I have a pretty good understanding of how to balance the books.

My comments merely pointed out two policies that don't make sense you can't cut taxes and increase public spending.

From what little information there is about UKIP's tax policy, it seems like they now want to take the minimum wage out of tax and combine NI and income tax into one, with a top rate of about 40%. Even if we forget about raising the threshold and cutting income tax for a second, NI alone brings in £110bn a year.

That sounds like a pretty big tax cut to me.

One could argue that a tax cut worth about a fifth of the entire governments income would increase tax revenue, it would be a stupid, nonsensical argument grounded in little more than ideological dogma, but I suppose it would be an argument nonetheless.

It is an argument Keynes and Khaldun have made in the past, I wouldn't call them stupid. Either way you are assuming there is no reciprocal increase in the tax take elsewhere.

Interesting post.

I find it amazing how people vote for UKIP just based on them wanting to leave the EU. They are completely ignorant about their manifesto, something I am not too familiar with.

Do I think they are good or bad? Good, if it means putting pressure on the 'big three' to listen to the voters. I think it would be bad if they got into power. I agree with another post on here saying UKIP have all the answers - they don't! They are as greedy, corrupt and incompetent as the rest, perhaps worse. I really don't see much difference between them all.

I consider myself a Labour supporter, but I don't like what the previous Labour ran the country. Secondly, I'd vote Lib Dem, but I don't like how Clegg sacrificed his principles for a sniff of power. Additionally, I as well as many others, thought a Lib Dem coalition would redress the excesses of the Tory party. Instead, this hasn't happened. So it's a no. I don't feel any affiliation to Conservative. So I feel stuck!

I quite like Farage, but I'm not too fond on UKIP. I think most people voted for the man and not the party. And I don't think UKIP are the next Nazi Party. Farage seems to say sensible things, unlike some of the counsellors in his party!

So to answer your question - it depends in which context. It could be either.

Lee.

As an accountant you should know that citing a proposal to increase one small item in a companies accounts isn't reason to assume all expenditures will rise. Similarly the same applies to a company changing the price of one product on total income. The fact that you are an accountant means you know what you were doing when you made those statements.

And as an aside you CAN cut taxes AND increase spending.. but I've seen no evidence to suspect that is what UKIP propose to do.

At least one other poster on this thread has referred to the Paxman interview with Farage where exactly the things I have mentioned and others besides were discussed.

It was pointed out that his policy wasn't financially viable and Farage couldn't explain how it could be achieved.

Farage is very good at talking about the policies that they use to gain votes.

It's beginning to look like you're using the snippets of information you have acquired to accuse others of being I'll informed and full of assumptions.

Anyone can say they've seen no evidence of something they don't want to see.

You have to do your homework to find out what a political party stands for rather than listen to the bits they want to tell you.

It's called looking for the bigger picture analysing the information available to you and making your own decision. Not listen to the policies designed to draw you in by lobbyists and spin doctors.

When the BBC followed Farage on the campaign trail they asked his supporters if they knew what else he stood for other than their policies on the EU and Immigration. None of then had a clue about any other policies.

When the reporter asked about some of the things I have mentioned previously they had no idea.

Farage did not once say they were not his policies during the conversation between him the reporter and his prospective voters. If they weren't his policies surely he would have taken the opportunity to put the record straight.

Oh and I wouldn't call reducing the taxes of the highest earners in this country a small tax cut.

I have to say some of the people I know who say they support UKIP do so to wind people up as they love to have a political debate. In reality though the people I know who actually voted UKIP don't follow politics, don't understand how the EU works and either haven't voted before or haven't voted for a very long time.

I don't see how my putting money to pay off my mortgage would create a reciprocal increase elsewhere...

I'm referring to the use of single snippets to draw general conclusions. Any serious party proposing a change to direct taxation would likely consider offsets from indirect taxation for example. In other words there may be a policy to increase the tax take elsewhere. I'll be careful what I say in case it is used as evidence that UKIP are proposing to double VAT.

But to take your point directly you (and millions of others like you) may choose to reduce your mortgage by repaying the bank and think it ends there. However for an economist this money (reduced obligation) may be used by the bank to invest in plant & machinery etc etc. In fact I think it says a lot about the media we are exposed to that people often think money is only useful in the economy if it is used to consume rather than invest.

I find it amazing how people vote for UKIP just based on them wanting to leave the EU. They are completely ignorant about their manifesto, something I am not too familiar with.

I agree with another post on here saying UKIP have all the answers - they don't!

I as well as many others, thought a Lib Dem coalition would redress the excesses of the Tory party. Instead, this hasn't happened.

It may be, although given banks still aren't lending to business I'd suggest they'd just hoard it to improve their capital position.

Banks have money on tap from funding for lending but it still isn't happening.

In any case, such tangential tax returns have quite a time lag. In the short term either the deficit rises or UKIP reduces the size of the state which would counteract the tangential effects.