I never told you about the RS 6's liking for high-octane fuel, did I?
01-22-2003, 05:06 AM
#21
Hence our unnatural interest in stamping out terrorism where oil is also involved! (m)
Actually, I think the big difference is taxation. There's no other reason to think that your petroleum products should cost more than ours.
01-22-2003, 08:03 AM
#23
AudiWorld Super User
Join Date: Nov 2000
Posts: 12,697
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Yeah, and your weather is cold and miserable 11 1/2 months per year...
and they want to eventually tax you on your drive to work, your drive to the grocery store, the time of day you drive, your "free" parking space at work...(at least this is what is reported in American car mags)...
What is it about Britain that is GOOD? Do you guys just get paid 500,000 pounds or more per year to make up for this incredible taxation? We b*tch here a lot about taxes and stuff...but I don't know how European countries get away with it without massive revolt! Seriously.
What is it about Britain that is GOOD? Do you guys just get paid 500,000 pounds or more per year to make up for this incredible taxation? We b*tch here a lot about taxes and stuff...but I don't know how European countries get away with it without massive revolt! Seriously.
01-22-2003, 09:55 AM
#24
Rest In Peace
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2000
Posts: 4,556
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Britain has no redeeming features really & the tax really sucks
Yes tax is high, no we don't all get paid a lot of money to compensate - most people just live as cheaply as they can and the <i>national</i> average credit card debt is now topping £20k.
Me, as I own my own company I get to be shafted even harder by the tax man. I estimate that in this financial year between half of my company's corporation tax and my own personal tax liability, I've clocked up somewhere in the region of £100k to be paid in taxes, if you include the eye-watering £792 ($1280) a month I pay in company car tax for the RS 6. And that's before I've even started to be taxed on how I spend it.
For all that tax I pay, I don't live like a king. The RS 6 is a <b>huge</b> indulgence, and I only live in a modest 4 bedroomed house, although I am in the process of buying a slightly larger 5 bedroomed one. By US standards, British houses are expensive and small.
I can't think of any reason to stay in Britain once my stepson has finished in education and is in full-time employment, and I plan to sell up and ship out one day.
Me, as I own my own company I get to be shafted even harder by the tax man. I estimate that in this financial year between half of my company's corporation tax and my own personal tax liability, I've clocked up somewhere in the region of £100k to be paid in taxes, if you include the eye-watering £792 ($1280) a month I pay in company car tax for the RS 6. And that's before I've even started to be taxed on how I spend it.
For all that tax I pay, I don't live like a king. The RS 6 is a <b>huge</b> indulgence, and I only live in a modest 4 bedroomed house, although I am in the process of buying a slightly larger 5 bedroomed one. By US standards, British houses are expensive and small.
I can't think of any reason to stay in Britain once my stepson has finished in education and is in full-time employment, and I plan to sell up and ship out one day.
01-22-2003, 11:07 AM
#26
AudiWorld Super User
Join Date: Nov 2000
Posts: 12,697
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Wow!!! I was expecting you to give me insight into all that is wonderful...
and great about Britain and how it is really so much better than the U.S. or elsewhere...just that we Americans don't understand...
So, I guess I wasn't imagining things...it really does suck to live there! Sorry man...but at least you have an awesome RS 6!
Where would you go when you leave? How does that work if you wanted to come to the U.S.? or would you go to Australia or somewhere?
So, I guess I wasn't imagining things...it really does suck to live there! Sorry man...but at least you have an awesome RS 6!
Where would you go when you leave? How does that work if you wanted to come to the U.S.? or would you go to Australia or somewhere?
01-23-2003, 02:11 AM
#27
Rest In Peace
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2000
Posts: 4,556
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Well they are just my opinions, but I know quite a few people who'd leave
or at least spend 75% or more of their time out of the country.
I've got to say that living here sucks less if you're self employed and doing OK at it - the taxes suck big time, but at least you can use your money to insulate yourself from the rest of the horror - as I said the average credit card debt is over £20k now, mine is fully paid off at the end of each month and apart from my mortgage, I don't have any borrowings, I can afford to take regular holidays abroad and I can afford a convinient lifestyle (like letting my wife leave work, go to college and then buying her the A2 out of money in the bank).
Lincolnshire is a rural part of Britain, it's fairly "sleepy" compared to the larger cities and that makes things better to an extent, but the town I live in has high unemployment and is a commercial port, so there's a lot of smuggling, lots of drugs and lots of immigrants. We have a growing problem with Kosovan immigrant gangs trying to muscle in on existing Irish and Russian territory and the violence is escalating.
Crime's rising and the government seem unable to do much about it, and even defending your own home against criminals is liable to get you in prison while the real criminal gets a suspended sentence. Despite our strict (by US standards) gun control laws, illegal carrying and use of guns is on the increase. This used to be one thing that I thought was a plus point to Britain, but it's rapidly becoming a minus, as the criminals and police are slowly arming up, but the general public has no right to do so.
We do have some things to be proud of, for a little country we still have good armed forces and they're not afraid to get out there and get their hands dirty. We're still quite inventive, a lot of science technology and research still happens here, but almost everything is owned by foreign investors.
It's our poor economy that's screwed us, and in my personal opinion it's the welfare state that's responsible for most of it. Britian has a reputation for being an easy win in this respect, we have asylum seekers coming here from other European countries (they should remain in the country they first claimed asylum in) because the benfits available here are better than elsewhere. Our own home-grown leeches are on the increase too, benefit fraud costs billions a year and I can't see the government doing anything but increasing taxes in response.
I don't know where I'd go to, a lot of Brits go to Spain so I'd probably avoid that. The US is an interesting idea, but I don't know what the legalities are. Canada's western side seems quite appealing as well. I don't think I'd want to go to Australia, nothing against Australians but I don't think I'd fit in there somehow.
Still, at least our roads and traffic make driving more of a challenge and therefore more frustrating or enjoyable depending upon your mood at the time! :-)
I've got to say that living here sucks less if you're self employed and doing OK at it - the taxes suck big time, but at least you can use your money to insulate yourself from the rest of the horror - as I said the average credit card debt is over £20k now, mine is fully paid off at the end of each month and apart from my mortgage, I don't have any borrowings, I can afford to take regular holidays abroad and I can afford a convinient lifestyle (like letting my wife leave work, go to college and then buying her the A2 out of money in the bank).
Lincolnshire is a rural part of Britain, it's fairly "sleepy" compared to the larger cities and that makes things better to an extent, but the town I live in has high unemployment and is a commercial port, so there's a lot of smuggling, lots of drugs and lots of immigrants. We have a growing problem with Kosovan immigrant gangs trying to muscle in on existing Irish and Russian territory and the violence is escalating.
Crime's rising and the government seem unable to do much about it, and even defending your own home against criminals is liable to get you in prison while the real criminal gets a suspended sentence. Despite our strict (by US standards) gun control laws, illegal carrying and use of guns is on the increase. This used to be one thing that I thought was a plus point to Britain, but it's rapidly becoming a minus, as the criminals and police are slowly arming up, but the general public has no right to do so.
We do have some things to be proud of, for a little country we still have good armed forces and they're not afraid to get out there and get their hands dirty. We're still quite inventive, a lot of science technology and research still happens here, but almost everything is owned by foreign investors.
It's our poor economy that's screwed us, and in my personal opinion it's the welfare state that's responsible for most of it. Britian has a reputation for being an easy win in this respect, we have asylum seekers coming here from other European countries (they should remain in the country they first claimed asylum in) because the benfits available here are better than elsewhere. Our own home-grown leeches are on the increase too, benefit fraud costs billions a year and I can't see the government doing anything but increasing taxes in response.
I don't know where I'd go to, a lot of Brits go to Spain so I'd probably avoid that. The US is an interesting idea, but I don't know what the legalities are. Canada's western side seems quite appealing as well. I don't think I'd want to go to Australia, nothing against Australians but I don't think I'd fit in there somehow.
Still, at least our roads and traffic make driving more of a challenge and therefore more frustrating or enjoyable depending upon your mood at the time! :-)
01-23-2003, 02:52 AM
#28
A quick political message / information resource
Nothing like being a small business owner, having to make a payroll and actually writing those tax witholding checks to the government, to make a conservative out of someone.
Besides AudiWorld, I spend a lot of time on a conservative political site, FreeRepublic.com. What I learn there dovetails exactly with your assessment of what's wrong with your country, as well as ours. We're just a couple/few decades behind you.
You should check out <a href="http://www.freerepublic.com/">FreeRepublic</a> and the UK counterpart, <a href="http://www.freebritannia.co.uk/phpBB/">Free Britannia</a>, if you want some interesting analysis and discussion of events. It's fun watching intelligent, conservative people dissect the lamestream media's reporting on current events.
Besides AudiWorld, I spend a lot of time on a conservative political site, FreeRepublic.com. What I learn there dovetails exactly with your assessment of what's wrong with your country, as well as ours. We're just a couple/few decades behind you.
You should check out <a href="http://www.freerepublic.com/">FreeRepublic</a> and the UK counterpart, <a href="http://www.freebritannia.co.uk/phpBB/">Free Britannia</a>, if you want some interesting analysis and discussion of events. It's fun watching intelligent, conservative people dissect the lamestream media's reporting on current events.
01-23-2003, 03:28 AM
#29
Rest In Peace
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2000
Posts: 4,556
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I don't normally get into politics, especially on the Internet
But Finman's post prompted me to say what I think is wrong with Britain, just opinions as I said.
I'll take a look at those web sites, It's always good to be as informed as you can be IMHO. Anyone out there got any counterpart sites to keep a balance?
As far as my political leaning goes, I've always been quite middle-of-the-road, kind of conservative but with a social conscience is how I like to think of it. I don't disagree with the concept of a welfare state, but I think it's too open, too softline and too easily abused by the career claimants. I think the spiral of taxation to fund spending has to stop somewhere, at some point the government just won't be able to extract any more tax out of the working population to fund the non-working and then the country will be in freefall. I want out before that happens.
I'll take a look at those web sites, It's always good to be as informed as you can be IMHO. Anyone out there got any counterpart sites to keep a balance?
As far as my political leaning goes, I've always been quite middle-of-the-road, kind of conservative but with a social conscience is how I like to think of it. I don't disagree with the concept of a welfare state, but I think it's too open, too softline and too easily abused by the career claimants. I think the spiral of taxation to fund spending has to stop somewhere, at some point the government just won't be able to extract any more tax out of the working population to fund the non-working and then the country will be in freefall. I want out before that happens.
01-23-2003, 04:36 AM
#30
Re: I don't normally get into politics, especially on the Internet
FreeRepublic is heavily moderated to keep flame wars and general obnoxiousness to a minimum.
I don't know about Free Britania, but I suspect the same.
For a U.S. leftist site, check out DemocraticUnderground, but don't do it when the kids are around. They're nasty. The lamestream media pretty much slants leftwards over here, that's where you get your "balance".
While I'm all for government as a last-ditch social safety net, we're far beyond that point in both countries, you much more than us. Europe in general appears to be in a socialist death spiral.
I don't know about Free Britania, but I suspect the same.
For a U.S. leftist site, check out DemocraticUnderground, but don't do it when the kids are around. They're nasty. The lamestream media pretty much slants leftwards over here, that's where you get your "balance".
While I'm all for government as a last-ditch social safety net, we're far beyond that point in both countries, you much more than us. Europe in general appears to be in a socialist death spiral.