London's Taxes Prop Up The Rest Of The Uk: One Pound In Every Five Earned In The Capital Funds The Rest Of The Country

[Guest]

There was a report out recently (IMF?) that said that each £1 'earned' by the City cost the rest of the country £7

Buckers

[RichB]

Wasn't it mostly the scottish and northern banks that needed bailing out?

Speaking of which, better hide this quickly before the scotch nationalists come out to play.

[blackgoose]

The vast majority of head offices are in London. The financial centre is in London. The media is centred around London. Politics is centred around London. Ambitious graduates flock to London. All of these factors mean that London 'generates' the most tax revenue. It is not that London subsidises the rest of the country, it is that London sucks economic value out of the rest of the country and as a result 'pays' more tax back.

[Riedquat]

Wasn't it mostly the scottish and northern banks that needed bailing out?

Speaking of which, better hide this quickly before the scotch nationalists come out to play.

Are they run from London-based offices? If they were actually doing anything productive they'd be quick to claim it all for London.

[tomandlu]

It is not that London subsidises the rest of the country, it is that London sucks economic value out of the rest of the country and as a result 'pays' more tax back.

This (not sure I agree 100% with the rest of your comment, but the exact mechanics are less important than the result).

[SHERWICK]

"London's Taxes Prop Up The Rest Of The Uk: One Pound In Every Five Earned In The Capital Funds The Rest Of The Country"

[Belfast Boy]

Wasn't it mostly the scottish and northern banks that needed bailing out?

Speaking of which, better hide this quickly before the scotch nationalists come out to play.

Can you name me 1 Northern Irish bank?

Edit: Sorry I read the question wrong.

Edited February 13, 2012 by Belfast Boy

[SHERWICK]

Can you name me 1 Northern Irish bank?

Bank of Scotland?

[@contradevian]

More City propaganda.

[Greg Bowman]

Speaking of which, better hide this quickly before the scotch nationalists come out to play.

Or the I get a nose bleed North of Watford mob i.e me!

Seriously I actually think it is more complex than that and think these articles detract from the real argument do you generate wealth i.e private sector or just spend it public sector.

I have more in common with a buisness owner in Swansea than a civil servant in London.

[TheCountOfNowhere]

Doesn't 1 person in every 4 live round london/ greater london.

Oxford airport is called London Oxfiord, are they counting Oxford too ?

They're not doing very well if they only generate 1 in 5.

[richc]

Can you name me 1 Northern Irish bank?

Or even easier, name me 1 Northern Irish private business?

[The Masked Tulip]

Or the I get a nose bleed North of Watford mob i.e me!

Seriously I actually think it is more complex than that and think these articles detract from the real argument do you generate wealth i.e private sector or just spend it public sector.

I have more in common with a buisness owner in Swansea than a civil servant in London.

{WAVES}

You can also turn the debate around and say that London sucks wealth out of the rest of the country.

[interestrateripoff]

Northern unemployment helps control London inflation.

We have trade imbalances within the UK, without adjustment London will always generate more tax.

[R K]

If this were true then it's blindingly obvious that the capital needs to leave the UK, revalue dramatically upward and allow the rest of the UK to restore its relative competitiveness. Capital is getting a free ride same as Germany, China etc etc.

#parasites

Edited February 13, 2012 by Red Knight

[Greg Bowman]

{WAVES}

You can also turn the debate around and say that London sucks wealth out of the rest of the country.

You could. I don't really care where the wealth is generated but we have to recognise that the moving public sector jobs to a region a la DVLA or the BBC doesn't create 'wealth' it just moves jobs around which is a different thing.

[winkie]

London's Taxes Prop Up The Rest Of The Uk: One Pound In Every Five Earned In The Capital Funds The Rest Of The Country

Look at London against the rest of the UK as the same as Germany against the rest of the Euro Zone.....where there is a credit there has to be a debt to compensate.

[Bloo Loo]

cant be banks....they pay little tax.....and they take bailouts too.

Must be all the sandwich bars, lawyers and others trades that work in the bailed city.

[RichB]

Look at London against the rest of the UK as the same as Germany against the rest of the Euro Zone.....where there is a credit there has to be a debt to compensate.

With public spending running at over 50%gdp, one instinctively feels that there may be more than one debit offsetting each credit.

[PopGun]

The vast majority of head offices are in London. The financial centre is in London. The media is centred around London. Politics is centred around London. Ambitious graduates flock to London. All of these factors mean that London 'generates' the most tax revenue. It is not that London subsidises the rest of the country, it is that London sucks economic value out of the rest of the country and as a result 'pays' more tax back.

+1

Double edged that one.

[THE BALD MAN]

Wasn't it mostly the scottish and northern banks that needed bailing out?

Speaking of which, better hide this quickly before the scotch nationalists come out to play.

Without our money all banks would have collapsed.

[singlemalt]

'...earned by Londoners'.

Really??

That's funny because as a Northerner who has on a number of occasions worked in London I'd never consider myself a Londoner. Actually how many people who work in London are actually Londoners?

[winkie]

'...earned by Londoners'.

Really??

That's funny because as a Northerner who has on a number of occasions worked in London I'd never consider myself a Londoner. Actually how many people who work in London are actually Londoners?

Not many...but some like to call themselves Londoners while they live and work there....a means to an end.

[thod]

The centerization effect argues for more devolution. The EU moves the centre away from the UK. The Germans are only too happy to see eastwards expansion because it centralizes them. After all who will build a head office on an offshore island, the UK becomes like Cornwall. If you were to build a distribution centre, assuming equal population distribution, you would place it smack bang in the middle to minimise paths. This alters when population density varies such as London skewing it the SE.

[stormymonday_2011]

Are they run from London-based offices? If they were actually doing anything productive they'd be quick to claim it all for London.

Precisely. I dont know how they separate 'London' taxpayers from those from those elsewhere in the country as the bulk of tax is paid via PAYE/NIC, Corporation Tax and VAT from company head offices which are often located in the capital. . Back in the 1980s Shell used to pay vast amounts of tax to HMG from its old office near Waterloo station. This did not mean all its oil and gas fields were in London. Similarly John Lewis almost certainly remit all their taxes from their Headquarters in London. This does not mean all the staff and shops are based there. Another vain attempt by the City to improve its tarnished image.