Giraffes and a tax question

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

So what’s with the giraffes and tax headline you ask?

The giraffes bit will come along at the bottom of this blog but firstly I’m going to bore the pants off you with an article I saw yesterday in one of my local papers. I only ever read the funny bits in my paper and do the crossword. Anyway it appears that yesterday was the UK’s Tax Freedom Day. According to an article written by Eamonn Butler in the Times newspaper the 30th May is officially Tax Freedom Day and he refers to a city economist Gabriel Stein who has calculated Tax Freedom Day since 1992 and has figures going back to 1966 when Tax Freedom Day fell a whole month earlier.

So what is Tax Freedom Day?

What Gabriel Stein does is add up all of the taxes we pay over here including income tax, national insurance,VAT, council tax,vehicle tax, duties on fuel, stealth tax and all the rest. This is set against the nation’s income to calculate how big a slice of our earnings the Treasury is taking.

So working on those figures, as from today the 31st May we all get to keep the money we earn. The tax authorities had their bit up until now and we are at the end of May!!!!

According to his figures the Americans and the Australians worked off their tax bill some six weeks ago, but the French are still working for their government until the end of July.

So if you are working for someone else it may be an idea to start work on the first of June every year:-)

Now for something that’s nothing to do with tax.

I came across this earlier today or to be more precise my partner Joan came across this most amusing clip starring giraffes performing some special dives. You want to wait until after the credits have finished rolling for the final touch. Some animators really should get out more but very clever and amusing.

Well that’s my blog for today and if your enjoed it then share it around, if not keep it to yourself. There’s some interesting stuff coming up in the next few days that won’t tax your brain and will decidedly assist in your well being.

You can blog for yourself with one of the top platforms in the world here

Meet up on FaceBook by clicking here

See what I used to do when I was a lot younger!!! Click here