January 19, 2015
James Goad
Do you think the 1% in England pay too many taxes?
The 1% of earners now pay 29% of the income tax receipts in this country. You have to say that the broadest shoulders are bearing the biggest burdens. Where we go wrong is allowing the crony corporates and super-rich tax avoidance to go largely unpunished. Our Byzantine tax system was however created by politicians, with many of them trying to create their legacy tax breaks for selected industries. Big business has long cosied up to the three main Westminster parties. The super rich and the corporations of course use these loopholes, as most people would if they were available to them. I don’t blame them for doing so. Our political class is to blame. Most of our problems link back to government decisions. We need a fairer system of capitalism that favours small and medium-sized businesses.
Tell me everything you know about the “Goad” surname, because I don”t know much other than the fact that it’s English and can also be used as a verb.
“Goad” is believed to have Norse origins. There is possible consistency in this with my own ancestry; my male lineage stretches back to the former county of Westmorland (now Cumbria) in northwest England. This was an area heavily settled by Vikings (Norsemen) somewhere around the 9th or 10th centuries AD. They came over from their settlements in Northern Ireland. Alternatively, the name could just be a corruption of “goat.” I prefer the Norse explanation. If you ever feel a pining for the fjords, you’ll know the reason.
