Treasury

 

From long before Robin Hood had a go at righting wrongs, collecting the finances for government has been controversial.    

Once the people have the money, they really do not want to give it up, especially if in doing so, they disadvantage themselves compared to their neighbour who is corrupt.  Indeed, in a number of countries this has become institutionalised.  It becomes impossible to live without breaking the rules.  The government knows this and allows it.  It means every subject can be ‘taken out’, if necessary, by simply looking at their tax records.

The way western governments address non-payment of VAT is to try to get all transactions to go through the bank.  This is perhaps one reason why the ‘covid era’ concern about hygiene associated with paper money and coins has lead to a move towards a cashless society. 

How do we get around this? 

This government’s view is that we should create far more of a contract with the community over the financing of services.  These services should be accountable.  In the past there has been a ‘paternalistic’ relationship with the state, with perhaps resentment that services received are often poor.  We see this in poor housing, chaotic transport systems, long waiting lists, dysfunctional schools.

Just as the introduction of ‘student fees’ has galvanised students into demanding value for their money, so the government should be held to account in the provision of appropriate services.

Here are ideas to help improve the finances of government.

1)      As happens now, tax will be deducted from salaries before they are paid to the individual (wherever possible).

2)      For all professional groups that are not publicly financed there will be an assumed target for income generated.  If an individual says they have not reached that level, there will be an government agency who is able to over help to discover whether the income can be improved.

3)     The government will endeavour to control the flow of money coming in and out of the country. This will primarily be to address the vagaries of multinational ‘big business, which may use payments in one country to service debt in another country.

4)     The fiscal model used priorities the needs of the whole community above the individual.  This means that social research into effective societies will be closely monitored.  It is known that the countries where the populous reports to be the most content are societies where the disparity in incomes between people is kept in check.  If the mega rich choose to leave the country, this will be accepted as an acceptable consequence.                             An example of putting civil priorities over individual priorities is seen in the provision of public transport.  This is often caught in a catch 22 situation.  People do not use public transport because it’s not very good.  Because people do not use it, it’s not very good.  One way to get over this is to add a ‘voluntary’ tax of £20 to everyone.  This can be requested back, but with it, you also receive a free bus pass for the year. It this happened in an average sized city, the cost of running the bus service would be covered.  People from outside the city would still pay, but they would benefit from a health and functional service provided by the residents. 

5)      Taxation should be made as simple as possible, largely focused on incentivising work, and the responsible utility of property.  Past governments have introduced what was dubbed the ‘bedroom tax’ on social housing residents.  They were penalised for living in houses with empty room, with the mindset that ‘this is not your house;, and you need to move to somewhere smaller and give up that house for someone else.’  This principle could apply to everyone, with the idea that instead of building more homes, let’s use the ones we’ve got.   Closely allied to taxation comes the provision of social security.  This comes next.