What are you all up to
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You might be interested in this from the Joseph Roundtree Foundation At least the Government in Scotland is trying to come up with a different way of doing things. Whenever you change systems there is always the danger of winners and losers and the problem with the old Poll Tax, although it seemed sensible, it created too many new losers!
David
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I think they have given up on finding an alternative, much easier just to tinker!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-35711080
this is quite an interesting piece.
Interestingly, while Norway does have a local income tax, they also started introducing an optional property tax a few years back, and more and more local councils are taking up the option. Some are now setting it so high that many older pensioners cannot afford to pay.
This is happening in the upmarket areas of Oslo where there are a lot of big old high value houses where pensioners are still living in the family home (like we are!) They are asset rich but cash poor, as the saying goes.
There is no notice taken of the income they have, apparently they have been told to sell up if they cannot afford the new tax!
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Bitterly cold, sun went in, but mirror now fitted. The back is the wrong colour so I will need to swap it for the original back, but at least the car can now be used.
After lunch I have work on the caravan to finish if it stays dry. I am in the middle of fitting a "battery to battery" charger as these modern cars are so "smart" that they do not bother to charge the caravan battery, and may even be draining it.
Impossible to be certain on the draining bit, but we are finding we are arriving on site, and back home, with insufficient battery power in our almost new 110 Ah battery to get more than a few minutes use from the mover.
Whether the fridge is being properly powered on 12v is also questionable.
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But it's still a debt, interest free or not. It's not your money!
If HMRC owe you that amount, I'll be surprised. By your own admission, you don't earn enough to pay that sort of tax level, unless you are telling fibs? £1200 on your allowance I could believe as you've applied for part of your wife's allowance, which would mean approx £240.
Silly me, I forgot that they are giving you the EV for nothing, just so you can deliver pizza's and save some cash
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There was talk that Oxford City intends to introduce a Tourist Tax of £1 per night stay. Soon everyone will be following suit, then it will be Counties so expect CMC sites and Cls to have to increase your stay by £1 per person per night. Day trippers of course will be able to visit without contributing anything.
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Miffed X2.
Firstly we have a leaky radiator and have to wait a fortnight for new one so proposed trip towards end of month cancelled for the moment.
Secondly, took car into garage for some warranty work after finding lying water in the well where spare sits, and yes we do get a full spare tyre. It was booked in and when I got there they said we'll put it up on the ramp and see if it's a quick fix. Showed me that there were no holes anywhere to be found and gave me car back saying to bring it back if and when water found in well again. So I asked for car to be lowered, lifted the cover covering the well area and showed them some lying water. Good job I wasn't anywhere near Lourdes or it could have been pronounced as another miracle. Ah yes, they said, leave it with us.
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Just wondering K what is a 'battery to battery' charger? Perhaps we're being a bit thick?! We haven't noticed the mover problem but we do have a big problem with our fridge getting warmer whilst towing. So we'd be interested in how to fit one.
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Just had another frustrating day trying to update the in-built satnav on the MH. I've installed, uninstalled and reinstalled the TomTomHome app so many times, yet the update still keeps falling over. The TomTom helpdesk is as efficacious as a chocolate fireguard.
I thought I would try doing it on my old Windows XP machine. The app(program) seemed to install correctly but just as I put the USB stick into the slot, the laptop died completely. I've wasted the last three days on this thing and my patience is wearing a little thin.
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I'm not sure about a local tax if it would be based on ability to pay.
Take our neighbours a young couple with 2 small children, they use lots of water and have more and bigger household bins than us.
We are away for 6 months of the year, don't waste water and have much smaller bins that are not always emptied every week.
If it came down to ability to pay then on our income we would pay more than them, yet they use more of the council funded services. Now I don't find that fair and equal.
I would like a water meter but up here that is a no go at them moment due to the cost of having one installed. I'd be quite happy to pay to empty the household bins if it wasn't a charge for the year but was based on how many times they were emptied.
I am aware that it involves more than just water and bins but they were just an example.
I expect it isn't an easy thing to find a system that fits and suits all residents but then again that's what they get paid for and they did choose to run for government
MM keep at it one day you will win someone over to your way of thinking
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Arrived at site about 1130hrs, set up and a quick sandwich and then out to enjoy this part of Norfolk in bright sunshine and 10C🌞. Last stop was to a place called Wareham Greens to watch raptors return to roost🦅 Temperature has now dropped significantly ❄️
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Found out today that the local council going to charge per bin this year for green refuse. £30 per bin. Came home and told MIL who had a real hissy fit. Eventually calmed her down and said £0.50 per week or thereabouts was no big deal and she said she thought it was £30 per week! Lol.
Still, extra expense.
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heddlo, a Battery-to-Battery charger can have a supply voltage below the output voltage. The one I have fitted is a Sterlig BBC1225 which will work down to an input voltage of about 8V and still give an output voltage of 14.4V at 25A. This BBC takes power from the car (on 13pin cable) Orange pin 9 (S12 Green pin 4) and Slate pin10 (S12 Red pin 6). The returns are pin WhiteRed13/White3 and WhiteBlack11/Black7. With the unit connected no current can flow from the caravan battery to the car and the caravan battery will be fully charged. Pin 10 powers the fridge. As the max output of the unit is 25A, the battery and the fridge are powered alternatly and the unit can be biased to favour the battery or the fridge. All is explained in the manual which follows the unit. I have had the car connected to the caravan and seen that the unit works, I am now looking forward to seeing it working while on tour. As the voltage to the fridge should now be at about 14V while towing we expect it to be cool when arriving on site!
I bought this unit on line from www.mdsbattery.co.uk but you can also get it from the makers at a slightlyelevated price. I paid £192.95. I also had to buy 2.5mm2 cables of various colours and 30A connectors to do the installation.
As fitting it involves cutting into the 13 pin cable or the 12S 7 pin cable it is advisable that one is confident working on the caravan electrical system to fit this unit.
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No, not easy to satisfy everyone, but at least those who have more income would pay more, which presumably is affordable, like other income taxes.
SNP promised to reform the CT, favoured an income based tax, but have totally reneged on that, so were elected on false promises.
I would have no problem paying a tax based on income, but meantime we are paying out over 10% of our income on CT, including water/waste charges, for just 2 people, which does not seem fair.
P.S.......I have no vote, despite paying all these taxes, so cannot influence the outcome either way!
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Not your week is it? Hope that the car's soon sorted and that the radiator is fixed quicker than forecast, then perhaps you'll be able to get away as planned.
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Another daily update..... Fine, sunny but still very cold start to the day. Managed to get the washing done before setting off to Cragside. Drove though a short flurry of snow and could see that The Cheviots are covered. The estate drive was closed due to icy roads so we walked up to the Labyrinth instead of driving to Nellie's Moss CP. Visited the house after lunch before another walk, this time over the Iron Bridge up to the Formal Gardens. Called in at Lidl in Alnwick on the way back to the van. OH spotted a Murmuration of Starlings north of the site just as it was going dark, but too far off to get a decent photo.
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That's precisely the reason why I prefer to stay in my caravan, KjellNN! Re-location is no problem or expense for me. I just hitch up and go!
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You could have a lovely holiday with that £2100, Milodog, if you didn't have to spend it on a new boiler! That's enough money to pay for 3 to 4 months on CMC sites!
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Since the married persons allowance has been added, my tax liability on my present income has come down to zero tax. However, I've been paying £600 a year in income tax, so £1200 over two years which HMRC said I could claim back. That will completely wipe out my entire business account overdraft, Yertiz! Happy days!0 -
Now you're talking Kj, sell up, buy a new caravan and spend your retirement touring and enjoying the freedom of the road! That's excellent advice that they are getting, isn't it? Where's the sense in being asset rich and cash poor? As the saying goes: 'You can't take it with you when you go!'
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At the moment, I'm paying the full price, JVB66 and will continue to do so until 16th March! In fact I've spent most of the winter on club sites at full price and in doing so, will have paid more money in site fees than others on here who have spent their entire winter in their bricks and mortar properties! Don't you think?
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Maybe, SteveL but it might be good for a few years yet! Most things that have needed replacing so far have been done for free under the warranty!
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