US citizens have access to a Tax Receipt why not UK citizens?

The White House website has a calculator for providing US citizens with a Tax Receipt. The Tax Receipt is a calculator that can be used to provide a receipt for Federal taxes that were spent in 2010 by a US citizen. I am not a US citizen, but even so it is possible to select one's income in USD and the calculator will work out what you would have spent on Federal taxes in 2010 if you were a US citizen. I like this openness, why can't we have a tax calculator in the UK, all we seem to have is calculators to work out how much tax we have to pay! And I haven't a clue as to whether the income tax I paid in the past is correct.  Try the calculator below, UK and other citizens will need to "Choose an Income Level" I was quite surprised with the results.

 

---

0 Comments

What is AV?

The Alternative Vote is a type of sytem to elect members of Parliament or to elect others, eg. MPs elect their own leaders using AV. From the experts: "AV represents a logical progression from first past the post. Preserving the traditional one member, one constituency, it ensures all MPs have a real mandate while delivering greater choice and eliminating the need for tactical voting." Electoral Reform Society. Wikipedia has an exhaustive article on IRV Instant Runoff Voting or AV. The definition is: Instant-runoff voting (IRV), also known as the Alternative vote (AV), is a voting system used to elect one winner from a pool of candidates using preferential voting. Voters rank candidates in order of preference, and their votes are initially allocated to their first choice candidate. If after this initial count no candidate has a majority of votes cast, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and votes for that candidate are redistributed according to the voters' second preferences. This process continues until one candidate receives more than 50% of the votes, upon which they are declared the winner.  The uTube video below is worth watching, preferably more than once.

AV is widely used

It is a mistake for those in the "No to AV" to suggest that AV is not widely used as IRV is widely used and Runoff which is in effect a sort of AV.  Taken together FPTP is less than half of the other types of selection for electing a government.  The informaton can be gleaned from this source: Table of voting systems by country  The video broadcast below is in support of  AV. 

FPTP is popular?

FPTP seems to be the most popular system only because there are many other variations of how citizens may vote. Collectively these other systems are can be split into IRV/AV or PR as may be understood by reading the Wikipedia article on Proportional Representation best read together with the accompanying Wkipedia Discussion page. 

FPTP is the most popular system but less than half the governments of the world uses it.

0 Comments

Diesel UK £1.34 a Litre diesel USA $3.53 a gallon! Rip-off UK!

I filled up my car yesterday. It cost me nearly £99!  Using the current exchange for the GB pound and the US dollar ($1.6 =£1) we are paying £6.08 a gallon. In US dollars this would be equivalent to $9.86! (Except that one UK gallon is 1.2 US gallons.) So the USD price should be $8.22. Published date 14th Feb 2011

  UK current fuel prices fuel UK

Data source 14/2/2011 updated weekly

0 Comments

"Good morning,

I'm writing you today to talk about literally putting money back in your pocket.

We've launched the Tax Savings Tool at WhiteHouse.gov to make sure as many Americans as possible know about and take advantage of the array of middle class tax refunds passed in the Recovery Act last year. With a few simple questions, the tool generates a printable checklist anyone can use to make sure they don't miss out on any of the benefits they may be owed. ...!"

Excerpt from US Vice President's Joe Biden's email. What does the UK government do to help us? And to continue:

"Did you know, for example, that 95% of working families have been getting money in their paychecks in 2009 from the Recovery Act's $400 to $800 a year Making Work Pay tax credit –- and will continue to in 2010? "

Can't we make use of that legislation:  . . .Making work Pay tax credit? what's happened to GB's Golden Rule in the UK, wouldn't this Recovery Act qualify in the UK? Here is an excerpt from an Independent web article:

"The Chancellor took pity on motorists today by introducing his near-3p a litre fuel rise, planned for April 1, in three stages.

With prices at the pumps already approaching record levels, Mr Darling said he wanted to 'ease the pressure on family incomes'."  Comment: ****

 

0 Comments

Support Phil Packer to raise £1 million in support of Help for Heroes

When Phil was recovering from surgery in Hospital, he decided to embark upon a quest that would change his life forever; by doing so, he hoped that he could help change lives too. He visited Help for Heroes and was inspired by Bryn and Emma Parry, Mark Elliott and their Team’s work at Help for Heroes. Until he was able to return to work in the Army, Phil was determined to selflessly assist others and provide information on sports and events to the disabled military community and the wider disabled community as a whole. He believes he has a responsibility and duty to do so. He also pledged to raise £1million for Help for Heroes and to try to help in making a difference to fellow injured servicemen and women.

Major Phil Packer was injured in an incident following a rocket attack in Basra on 19 Feb 08. Sadly, as a result of the accident he lost the use of his legs and is now a paraplegic with what are classed as catastrophic injuries. He was originally told he would never walk again, however there have been positive improvements and it is his aspiration to walk the Flora London Marathon on the 26th April this year over a two week period on crutches. (he has completed the marathon!) He attends Headley Court every other month where the Medical Team assists him in physical rehabilitation.

Phil needs support to make his Quest a success. He is supported by family, friends, colleagues and those that hear about his story. To enthuse and inspire others, Phil has laid down the gauntlet for ANY challenges, events or sports to participate in, that will assist him in reaching his target. Amazingly, within a year of his injuries, he rowed the English Channel in just over fifteen hours!

If you want to support Phil, his Just Giving Page is www.justgiving.com/philsmillion and there is more information on his website at www.philpacker.com

0 Comments