Is £5000 a year for a season ticket too much?

[The Stationmaster]

The electricity generation sector expected you to move around too if you wanted promotion, at least once you wanted to go higher than shift charge engineer. That used to upset some but the system was what it was and it was one of those things you needed to just accept and live with if you had any ambition to advance. If you weren't willing to move around then that was fine but you were highly unlikely to move upwards. That's why I ended up living down here.

 

In the case of my employer that moved, I think a lot was down to where they moved to. They wanted to move next to a university with a strong maritime reputation and establish a joint technology campus. The three choices were Southampton, Newcastle and Glasgow. I actually thought (and still think) that both Strathclyde and Newcastle universities are stronger on marine engineering and naval architecture than Southampton. If they'd gone to Glasgow or Newcastle I think the attrition rate would have been massively lower as both of those cities have far more appeal than Southampton (well, I think they do), many of the people already had links with one of the two areas and house prices are attractive to anybody used to London or London commuter belt prices. I'd certainly have gone to Newcastle or Glasgow as I loved the job and liked the company, and I love both Newcastle and Glasgow. However c'est la vie, no use crying over things.

 

Oddly due to organisational changes that same concern (although a different part of it) moved my managerial reporting line from Reading to York.  Didn't make any difference to me as back in BR days when I was in my final Swindon post I'd also reported to a boss in York.

[D854_Tiger]

A couple of rather sweeping statements there, not all of which are entirely accurate. At the risk of going off-topic, contractors using limited companies do pay NI (both personal and company), as well as income tax, corporation tax and, for the majority, VAT.

 

Also, whilst there are short-term benefits for travel, this is not open-ended. Anything more than two years can start to attract the attention of HMRC and run the risk in getting caught up in IR35. Something your associate, and no doubt you, will no doubt be aware of.

 

There will always be those who 'play the system' (as with anything), but the majority do not; contrary to what members of parliament (both sides), Unions and other vested interests may say.

 

Apologies; rant over...

 

 

Indeed, as you may have guessed, I have worked this way myself in the past.

 

The accountant I turned to sat me down and said, "If you use my services, you will pay tax, no more than you have to, but you will pay tax. No doubt other contractors and other accountants will tell you what you want to hear but, if you use my services, you will unlikely be bothered by HMRC (because they trust me) and you will get some sleep at night."

 

I have met others that played the clever dick (off shore accounts and all that) but to varying degrees of success and the more sensible of them were always putting money aside should the worst happen, which often did, and I just couldn't see the point of that, or the endless hassle they went through with HMRC, besides my dad had just had a triple-by-pass operation and someone has to pay for the good stuff.

 

Up here in the West Midlands, a whole bunch of professional footballers listened to advice that told them what they wanted to hear, a scheme to avoid tax involving property investments abroad (Spain). What that advice didn't tell them was that legally all avoidance schemes must be presented and explained to HMRC, for their deliberation and approval (or otherwise).

 

This process can take some years and, needless to say, the scheme the footballers had invested in was eventually rejected by HMRC and they were presented with massive tax bills. Bills they had been assured they would never have to pay, by their rather expensive tax advisers that, by now, were nowhere to be seen. Bad enough, but unfortunately for them, not before all their property investments had gone South in the Spanish property crash.

 

I know of one of those multi-million pound players (his name was quite well known in the day), he was forced to sell his rather massive expensive house (and the cars), to pay off the tax bill and he works as a postman nowadays, all he has to show for his playing days is a small (albeit paid for) bungalow.

[Southernman46]

The thing with London is that it's the centre of the transport system.

I did suggest that if they moved the DLR Control Room to Salisbury, they would save 3.5k in season ticket loan .............. they laughed 

[The Johnster]

Indeed, as you may have guessed, I have worked this way myself in the past.

 

The accountant I turned to sat me down and said, "If you use my services, you will pay tax, no more than you have to, but you will pay tax. No doubt other contractors and other accountants will tell you what you want to hear but, if you use my services, you will unlikely be bothered by HMRC (because they trust me) and you will get some sleep at night."

 

I have met others that played the clever dick (off shore accounts and all that) but to varying degrees of success and the more sensible of them were always putting money aside should the worst happen, which often did, and I just couldn't see the point of that, or the endless hassle they went through with HMRC, besides my dad had just had a triple-by-pass operation and someone has to pay for the good stuff.

 

Up here in the West Midlands, a whole bunch of professional footballers listened to advice that told them what they wanted to hear, a scheme to avoid tax involving property investments abroad (Spain). What that advice didn't tell them was that legally all avoidance schemes must be presented and explained to HMRC, for their deliberation and approval (or otherwise).

 

This process can take some years and, needless to say, the scheme the footballers had invested in was eventually rejected by HMRC and they were presented with massive tax bills. Bills they had been assured they would never have to pay, by their rather expensive tax advisers that, by now, were nowhere to be seen. Bad enough, but unfortunately for them, not before all their property investments had gone South in the Spanish property crash.

 

I know of one of those multi-million pound players (his name was quite well known in the day), he was forced to sell his rather massive expensive house (and the cars), to pay off the tax bill and he works as a postman nowadays, all he has to show for his playing days is a small (albeit paid for) bungalow.

 

I have always worked on the principle that, if you are better dressed than me (not a high bar as anyone who knows me will testify) you are at worst trying to rip me off and at best not on my side.  It has served me well as a principle over many years.  

 

If you haven't made yourself wealthy by the time you're 30, my advice is not to try any more because you've proved you're no good at it and will come unstuck, and definitely not to let anybody who is wealthy by the time they're 30 advise you (this is most financial advisors) because they can see you coming a mile off, and the end result is going to always be that they are even richer and you are even poorer, and that somehow it isn't their fault in any way you can prove...

[D854_Tiger]

I have always worked on the principle that, if you are better dressed than me (not a high bar as anyone who knows me will testify) you are at worst trying to rip me off and at best not on my side.  It has served me well as a principle over many years.  

 

If you haven't made yourself wealthy by the time you're 30, my advice is not to try any more because you've proved you're no good at it and will come unstuck, and definitely not to let anybody who is wealthy by the time they're 30 advise you (this is most financial advisors) because they can see you coming a mile off, and the end result is going to always be that they are even richer and you are even poorer, and that somehow it isn't their fault in any way you can prove...

 

True story - I used to know a tailor (who happened to be gay and could mince for England), a great chap but very camp, in his 40s, did all my suits (before anyone asks).

 

Then I found out he had to take over the running of his father's small and failing engineering business. His dad had become ill and the brother that was expected to take over the running of the business went and got himself killed in a motorbike accident.

 

Needless to say he hated the idea but it was him or his rather elderly mother. Then talk about a fish out of water, he had zero engineering skills and had always had zero intention of acquiring any on the grounds, as he put it, "All that dirt."

 

Turns out, once he had stopped moaning about it (as if his life had come to an end), he was more than a chip off the old block and had business acumen in droves.

 

He not only turned the company around, he was also able to grow the workforce and, last I heard, was a multi-millionaire, living in a Worcestershire mansion and driving a Bentley.

[57xx]

I would like to see something along the lines of the "peoples republic of South Yorkshire" rolled out on a national scale, whereby you can go miles on public transport for hardly any £ Those (1970's) days were great in that respect !       

 

Ah yes, I remember the days of paying 2p on the bus to go from Shiregreen into Sheffield city centre to visit Redgates and Beatties.