Readers debate the rise in taxes after Rachel Reeves’ budget. But with UK services as they are… was it not inevitable? (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments.
The unintended consequences of the raise in the minimum wage
Martin (MetroTalk, Mon) defended the raise in the minimum wage, questioning whether a business that couldn’t afford paying an extra 77p per hour was viable.
Well, Martin clearly isn’t a businessman. Perhaps 77p doesn’t sound much to him but with chancellor Rachel Reeves’s national insurance hike added, it equates to £38.36 per week – or £1,994pa – for a standard 37.5-hour week.
Small businesses employing ten people and having to find £19,940pa will lose one staff member and get more out of the remaining nine.
A more efficient business, of course, but one more person on the unemployment register. Clearly, Martin and Reeves have not heard of ‘unintended consequences’. Robert Sandall, London
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Businesses will put up prices
A reader says he’ll be forced to pass on the costs to the customer (Credits: Getty Images)
As the owner of a small, family-run farm shop and café in West Sussex, our wage bill is about 40 per cent of turnover.
Any profit is ploughed back into the business. The minimum wage increase for younger workers is actually 16 per cent.
We love our staff and will not reduce headcount but we have no choice but to increase our prices by six per cent come April (20 per cent of this increase will go to the taxman in VAT).
The national insurance increase adds to the pressure. Although I agree to paying more to our brilliant team, the minimum wage increase will fuel price rises, inflation and higher costs for everyone. Christian, West Sussex
Money has to come from somewhere
Why are people irrationally scared of paying tax? Is it greed? (Credits: Getty Images)
Jimmy (MetroTalk, Fri) says the state is ‘bloated’ and that bad public services are evidence of the government being bad at spending money.
If he ran into a blizzard wearing only shorts and got cold, would Jimmy take that as evidence that clothes are bad at keeping him warm? After 14 years of senseless austerity, it’s clear our bad public services are the result of the state not spending enough to maintain them.
The state is actually better at spending because it is answerable to the people, rather than self-interested shareholders. It is also more financially efficient because it doesn’t have to cream off profits. Jimmy also …read more
Source:: Metro
