OK, so it’s off topic but there’s so much rubbish being spouted here I can’t let it go.

Comment 32 by PERSON
Myth. They say they'll leave the country. They don't actually do it.

Incorrect: I disprove your hypothesis by counter-example. I left. For six years.

Why would they need to?

Because under certain circumstances (eg. by having wildly varying income year-on-year) it’s sometimes cheaper to do bugger-all for several years than to stay resident and work. So who, given the opportunity, wouldn’t? It’s insane in that an excessive tax regime encourages economically-active people to go elsewhere.

The disadvantages of losing public services, …

What, like two grand a year in Council tax alone, and I can’t even get my rubbish taken away properly without argument? I really can do without that level of service thank you. Were I given a choice.

Oh, and "The rich, by definition, are not stupid"? Really? Why on earth not? Have you never heard of inheritance?

Yes, I’ve heard of inheritance. And I’ve also heard of inheritance tax. Haven’t you?

That’s 40% of everything (after threshold) you have ever saved to leave for your children, all of which was taxed once already, or if it is VAT-able chattels, taxed twice already.

I’m not talking about the few extremely rich people mentioned in several posts. Those kinds of people have full-time accountants and tax lawyers to avoid the worst of the system. That’s still easy, if you have enough money: offshore companies, Liechtenstein foundations, that kind of thing.

I’m talking about very ordinary businesspeople who have spent many years working hard and using their intelligence and drive to accumulate much more modest sums. These people are not stupid. When I was in the Far East I met hundreds of such people, who had become fed up with Government interference in so many aspects of their lives, not only with regards to taxation.

I was surrounded by many of the very people who Person and Cartomancer say don’t exist. Anyone who has travelled and lived beyond the end of their street will know of what and whom I speak.

On this site of all places, I’d expect evidence and fact to inform argument, rather than silly, facile stereotypes, and hearsay about people and groups the posters have obviously never met.

</ rant> I feel better now :)