If you had the option to send your taxes to only charities/causes of your choosing, would you?

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je97@reddit

Absolutely. The government spends taxes on too many things I either disagree with or consider wasteful.

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WhatYouLeaveBehind@reddit

So when you lose the pension NI contributions what does that balance out at?

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I'm not sure what you're getting at here, NI raises around 60 billion more than pensions. Get rid of the huge pensions budget and you can cut NI to a nominal figure over night. Cap unemployment benefits to 6 months and you can make another big tax cut. The goal should aways be to reduce tax as much as possible.

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WhatYouLeaveBehind@reddit

No, the goal should be to provide services at a reasonable cost and generate enough tax to pay for them.

The goal is in working out which services allow society to flourish.

The goal is in creating a country where we all succeed, but the nation doesn't thrive unless we all thrive.

That's the goal.

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je97@reddit

I don't see it like that. The goal should be to create a country where everybody gets to keep what they earn. I've no desire to give up my wages to help someone I don't know.

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WhatYouLeaveBehind@reddit

Then you should cease using any form of public service immediately. No roads. No power. No water. No gas. No infrastructure of any kind. Please immediately repay the full cost of your state funded education to date, along with any financial assistance your parents may have received that helped you as a child.

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Flat-Trust5324@reddit

Then it sounds like you should move country and probably not to a nice one. We decided nearly a hundred years ago that aid to others in society is better for the general wellbeing of everyone.

The last time we had a system like you're wanting is pre-ww2, and pre-pensions would be 1910s and even back then we realised that uplifting people in sociery actually makes the economy stronger overall. It's been proven time and time over which is why most countries provide some level of welfare.

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lonehorizons@reddit

Are you saying the state pension should be scrapped? So people who don’t have a private one have to just work until they drop dead like in Victorian times?

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anonoaw@reddit

Charities only exist when there are failings in public infrastructure and support. I’d rather my taxes do what they’re supposed to do and pay for a functioning society.

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Askduds@reddit

The existence of charity is indeed in all cases, a failure of government.

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_Rookwood_@reddit

Charities only exist when there are failings in public infrastructure and support.

Ish. There are lots of charities which do things which has no justification for the tax payer to shell out for.

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ElGoorf@reddit

this, and the fact that charities are inefficient because so much of their income has to go back into advertising instead of the cause, and the executives still take huge salaries. If government took care of it, there'd not need to be a marketing budget, and the the executives would be civil servants on a more modest salary.

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WhatYouLeaveBehind@reddit

Absolutely. People don't realise how much time charities have to spend just surviving. Publicity costs money. Fundraising costs money. Staff cost money. Good staff cost more money. Business savvy staff cost even more money. Hire cheap staff and you'll piss more money up the wall than using volunteers for everything. Facilities cost money. Events cost money. Staying relevant costs money.

If it was that simple all charities would be loaded all the time. But it isn't.

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ElGoorf@reddit

And then there are the "representatives" in the street that take extortionate cuts of money from the charities without the donors realising. Always tell them you rather pay the charity directly.

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WhatYouLeaveBehind@reddit

Always tell them you rather pay the charity directly.

People rarely do though. That's why they keep using street "representatives". Because they work.

This video highlights people's indifferent to giving money to charity is a really powerful way I think.

Most people like the idea of charity, but when it comes to giving the money doesn't lie.

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ElGoorf@reddit

I wasn't saying you had to be honest about it 😅 but they know that you know the game, and know they can't get to you

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Askduds@reddit

Presumably you will still expect your bins collected, which charity does that?

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Underwritingking@reddit

No. I'm in no position to judge where money needs to be spent to maintain the services and infrastructure society needs to function, and nor are most people. The prospect of tax revenue being diverted from things like social services, health services, education, defence etc into donkey sanctuaries and dog refuges is not an enticing one.

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psychopathic_shark@reddit

No because it would just give the ceo's of said charities a second Bentley

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WhatYouLeaveBehind@reddit

Which said charity are you referring to?

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psychopathic_shark@reddit

Cancer research CEO earns £2549000 a year Anchor trust CEO earns £420000 a year Barnardo's CEO earns £ 209999 a year British heart foundation £180000 a year Macmillan £200000 a year

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lonehorizons@reddit

You just listed the biggest charities in the UK. They probably make tons of money each year and can afford to pay their CEOs a CEO’s salary. Why should they work for less just because it’s a charity?

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WhatYouLeaveBehind@reddit

That's nice dear.

Which one specifically owns two Bentleys? The question that was asked.

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lonehorizons@reddit

Do you mean everyone in the UK would have the option to divert their tax away from public services to any organisation registered as a charity? The whole country would collapse within weeks.

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Connect_Boss6316@reddit

Charities in the UK are ridiculous scams.

Source : have been personally associated with the industry.

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imminentmailing463@reddit

No. My taxes should go to the state, not to charities.

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Leading_Airport_5649@reddit (OP)

I have the same thoughts but let me throw a curveball, only you can do this, everyone else pays their taxes as normal? Then would you consider it?

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Flat-Trust5324@reddit

Then you're just asking if someone would like to do tax evasion/do tax write offs for charity which already exist and are also bad for society generally.

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Sweaty_Leg_3646@reddit

"Tax write offs for charity" do not exist, except for if you donate your own money, in which case you lose the money you donate and can never come out ahead.

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Flat-Trust5324@reddit

Idk if you just don't know this but individuals absolutely get tax relief from charitable donations in the UK https://www.gov.uk/donating-to-charity

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imminentmailing463@reddit

Probably not. More work for me. I'd rather my taxes just get taken and put in the state's pot.

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Swimming-Proposal-83@reddit

Well, you can offset your taxes by donating, so. It sure what you’re getting at?

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Street_Inflation_124@reddit

Possibly, since there’s a few things that are funded by charities that SHOULD be funded by tax.

London Air Ambulance Rehabilitation for injured service people.

Being two off the top of my head.

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thecuriousiguana@reddit

The donkeys in the sanctuary would recline on platinum thrones and eat nothing but wagyu beef.

Meanwhile we'd have no schools.

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decentlyfair@reddit

No my taxes go to the running of the country. I give 5% of my salary to charities I choose (small local ones as I refuse to pay CEO’s wages with my hard earned cash) but those charities whilst worthwhile do nothing to help society run smoothly. They claim gift aid so that helps them.

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Cheap_Answer5746@reddit

You can already pay a part of your salary and avoid being taxed on it which I do . However they won't get gift aid so swings and roundabouts

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Badevilbunny@reddit

No. How would we pay and operate Prisons, Police, Roads, our Government etc. declare Prisons as a charity?

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TheBestBigAl@reddit

I'm taking part in this year's "Race for Life Sentences".

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Badevilbunny@reddit

LOL :-)

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eidolon_eidolon@reddit

No. I do not trust charities and see them as hugely inefficient. I would much rather have well-founded public services.

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bopeepsheep@reddit

If you could restructure taxes so that everything needed was covered but 1% of tax paid could be diverted to nominated causes, then sure. People who tithe to charity accounts already do this. There'd be no support for increasing taxes to cover this, though, so you'd have to rejig the system in a way that could reduce tax before this money was hived off. Change, say, 40% to 38% +1% - saving 1% (and the same for other tax brackets). But would the administration of this cost most of that 1%?

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