England Falter

I started today in a very optimistic fashion. Trott and Bell were at the crease and playing sensibly. Then I made the mistake of showering, and upon my return I learned that Bell was out for 13. A sad day.
Then my hopes were revived again by Prior, who managed an impressive 41 before his wicket fell. But it was okay, I told myself, Trott was still in and Broad & Swann could back up.
I guess I knew it was over when Trott fell. Broad and Swann could have made a go of it, but Swann was out sharpish. And from there it was only a matter of time.

Shame. TTFN.

Posted via email from Rob Thorley's Posterous Site

It is NOT a Granny Tax

I know, it's crazy.

 

But let's remind ourselves of the facts here.

The state pension is £102.15 per week, which means the government, and by extension, we, are giving pensioners £400 per month or £4,800 per year. Then there is a free TV licence, worth £100, and fuel allowances, and cold payments, and other allowances.  There is also the Second State Pension, which apparently pays an extra £25 per week on average, or £1,200 per year. And then, if you are still not receiving enough money to live on, there are pension credits.

 

Pensioners have a higher threshold before they pay any tax at all - over £10,000, compared to £8,100 (approx.) for today's workers.

 

If pensioners have worked and saved they should have a private pension which will provide an additional income over and above all the income sources mentioned above.

 

None of the benefits which pensioners receive today are being taken away. So, if a pensioner is receiving any of the benefits above today, they will continue to receive those.

 

What this budget lays out is that some of these benefits will not be available to future pensioners, nor will the current allowances continue (automatically) to grow with inflation.

 

Yes, it's a tough message. For those who've worked and saved, and have an independent income, all of the above is just gravy. For those who haven't, the above is what they can expect. Anyone retiring in the future can expect less. I believe this government is moving towards a universal pension scheme, where all pensioners will get the same - more or less. By removing anomolous benefits here and there, and baking those into the basic pension, we can save on admin costs and ensure that the basic pension is more generous.

 

I repeat, no-one is losing anything they currently receive. But, things will look different in the future. As time passes, things change. That's a natural phenomenon. The Daily Mail will just have to get used to it. But then, I suppose there are *some* things that don't change :)

 

Posted via email from Rob Thorley's Posterous Site

Changes to Higher Rate Tax

Initially, I read with bemusement the news that George Osborne may reduce the rate of higher tax to 40%. I am hoping that he will do more to raise the threshold at which we start paying tax, as this will be a benefit to me. I thought that if he reduces the top rate of tax, there will be no room to increase the threshold at which we start paying tax - on the grounds that he would be reducing the tax take at both ends.
But I'm thinking that reducing the top rate of tax may increase the tax take. I know it sounds strange, but let's think about it for a moment...
If the top rate is reduced to 40%, fewer people might move abroad, and fewer people might take action to avoid paying taxes. So the %age of tax take may increase, and the overall amount taken in tax may increase. Let's see...
It won't have a big impact any way, as the number of people earning over £150k are few and far between - and I'm not one of them :(
TTFN.

Development Planning Time Again

It's that time of year at work when Management insist we produce Development Plans. This to demonstrate they have our best interests at heart. I'm lucky this year in that I've just changed roles and so my development plan is to get to know my new role. A stretch goal would be to excel in my new role.
I'm becoming more aware, however, that I'm quite happy doing what I'm doing - whatever that is. I'm not sure that I want a promotion, because I see managers having their priorities changed hourly, as information is requested for decks, or Management are planning a visit. As long as I can ensure our standard of living improves, I think I'll be happy with that for now. Which is lucky, since I should now stay in role for 18 months or so. I'm sure by the time I get to the end of that time, I'll be looking for another opportunity / promotion. Happy days.
TTFN.

Woop! Woop!

So today I accomplished two things...

I took possession of my new Motorola bluetooth keyboard, for use with my Tab. It`s a very sexy bit of kit, but the layout is slightly strange. I`ll just blame Android for that. I managed to sync it without instructions and I`m using it now, so it can`t be all bad..!

And the second thing was that I connected up my CD player to my separates - now I can play CDs downstairs! The guinea pig CD was Underworld - `Dark and Long`, so I will have to keep it classy going forward. I predict lots of Wonder Stuff and PWEI to come...

It's a grey Saturday on the South Coast.
I'm feeling pretty lacklustre myself, that's probably due to the wine I imbibed last night.
I had a good whack of sleep though! From 22:30 to 07:00 this morning, and I wasn't aware of being awake for long passages during the night. I was awake for a short time, awake enough to publish a separate blog post, but that is functional and follows a template, rather than this blog which is more reflective and subjective.

I've started a new job, back in GNS. It's good to have job security, but I think it's going to take some time to adjust. Luckily my trainer went on holiday last week so I saw an unfiltered version of the job. I need to get my groove on, though.

Off to Elly's 40th tonight, I am looking forward to a night out although I might be driving so will have to stick to the lemonade :( But that might be a good thing because tomorrow we're off to see Caroline and her new baby son, Daniel! He's a bit jaundiced but I think he's okay apart from that. Might be nice to hold a newborn and be able to hand him back :)