Why England is BETTER Than the USA | American Reacts | Part 2 

I am now 66 and just retired... I have NEVER had to fill in a tax return or deal with anything to do with taxes in my whole life. I'm now getting the 'state' pension (plus my personal ones) and have always had the NHS for my health issues, odd accidents and also, free medicine since becoming 60. I'm SO glad I was born British. I even LIKE the weather... 😂 😂 😎 👍👍👍

You know, it's only by watching these reactions that I realise how lucky we are in Britain!

Best example of British manners , I arrived at a check out in a supermarket at the exactly the same time of this big guy …we argued about who was going first, eventually I won and he went first 😇

For a young country, the US is far behind in so many ways. You are decades behind in taxes, banking, employment rights, logistics, power systems and grids, education, public transport, infrastructure, voting systems and democracy, healthcare, food standards, civil rights, pollution and that isn't half of it.

I've a friend from the USA, but she lives here in the UK now. She says when she goes back to visit, she dislikes the food, she said even the bread she always ate her entire life was terrible. She didn't realise until she left that her standard sliced sandwich bread is super sweet, she couldn't eat her sandwich because it tasted like the fillings were inside two slices of cake, she said it actually made her gag. She also dislikes American "salads" she much prefers a UK salad now, which is fresh veggies & fruits and you can put a dressing on it or not. In the USA if you buy or order a salad, you have to remember to tell them to omit the dressing, or put it on the side. Within 3 months here she still ate the same kind of foods, but lost 20 pounds without dieting, exercising or omitting entire food groups. She was amazed & then worked out that if she went to a US restaurant she ate salads to try to lose weight, but because of the dressings, she ended eating more calories... She would have eaten less calories if she'd had steak & a baked potato.

Teenagers annoy me (I live in Edinburgh). On the bus or train, they get up and offer me their seat. Dammit! I'm only 74! They don't have to be that polite. Bless 'em

In the UK, for anyone who is employed by someone else/a company, your tax is calculated at source, and the money paid direct to HMRC (His Majesty's Revenue and Customs) by the employer. What you get in your paypacket (or these days paid directly into your bank account) is the net figure, and is all yours. It is therefore vital, if you change jobs, to hand your new employer your 'P45' issued by your previous employer when you left their employ. This ensures a seamless transfer of your records and your new employer knows exactly how to calculate your tax for the rest of the year. If you are self employed, then you are responsible for filing your own taxes each year, and are then billed for what is owed. We are all responsible for paying our 'Council Tax' each year - which goes to our local authority to pay for local ameneties. This is based on the 'banding' (a calculation based on size and type) of the property you live in, and is the same for everyone in a similar property in your area, so no calculating required by the individual. Purchase Taxes in stores (VAT) are all included in the price tickets displayed, and not added separately at the till.

Whenever I see people in American media talk about "doing their taxes" I had no idea what they were talking about, my taxes just come off my pay slip to pay the "inland revenue" and i don't have to do anything. If you run a small/large business where you pay yourself then you have to do your own taxes but that's when you get an accountant or something.

The 'community attitude' noted, is the reason for the NHS and how it works. I have seen comments in the US on why there is no health service, the likes of "why should I pay for someone else", not realising, that one day, YOU may be that someone else. I also note, game playing. There is a real vitriol against someone who loses, instead of a 'handshake and a well played'.

I live in a tiny village in Cheshire and we have a bus evebry half hour to Chester. Fron Chester train station i can get all over the UK. Its wonderfull, i dont even think about it becase its the norm.

Having served in the Armed Forces for most of my adult life, seeing and experiencing the countries that I have including America, I have NEVER taken being British for granted, having (Especially on this week D-Day) the Greatest Generation pave the way for us, making our country better from the way it was. I have a now more profound look not just being British, but having the privilege to have served.

Bread contains flour, yeast, water and butter. That’s all you need. You can add a bit of salt but I don’t. American bread contains twenty ingredients including chemicals and loads of sugar! Bread is not a sweet food, unless you make brioche, a french twisted loaf that’s a sweet bread. But for sandwiches, you don’t need to add lots pf sugar. Look on the bag for the ingredients in your bread and count them!

i ditched the car in 2004, dont miss it, dont miss the road tax, dont miss the insurance, dont miss the fuel, dont miss the MOT, dont miss the maintenance, dont miss sitting in traffic jams on my way to work.

You would think that a country that isn't even 300 years old (my house is older than that), would not constantly regurgitate the same crap about how they're the greatest country ever... it's rather silly when you think about it. The US has probably got the weirdest mindset about their country out of any other country- and the whole "we're a free country" palaver is such a confused concept. At least give it some time before you call yourselves the greatest country on the planet... and maybe do something to prove it. because at the moment when people think about the US, it is mostly in a negative way- to be blunt, the US is an absolute mess. Having the worlds highest prison population does not rank you very high in 'the worlds best countries' list lol.

In Britain we have a Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax system. His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) exists to calculate each individual's tax bill. Employees have tax deducted from their salaries each month and self-employed people do file their own taxes. We do have inheritance tax, but it tends to affect the richer people.

In most of Britain, cars are extremely convenient and make life a great deal easier, but it *is* possible to live without them. I live on the edge of a small town which is roughly halfway between 2 cities. The buses run directly into the city centres, and most of the time they're only 20 minutes apart. Half an hour on Sundays and bank holidays. The bus drivers are all regulars, and will generally wait for you at a stop if you haven't quite got there before the bus. We generally have room for about 2 wheelchairs or mobility scooters, or prams. The buses have drop platforms so people in wheelchairs or with mobility issues find it easier to get on/off, and they also have an additional ramp that the driver can put down. The buses have display screens that show you where you are on your journey, and the next few stops. They also announce the next stop and the stop you just missed, (the voice says, "I told you! Didn't I tell you we were approaching the stop you wanted? But did you listen to me? Too busy staring out of the window thing about that bit of totty in "Information Governance" I know. I know just what sort of information you'd like to give her!". Sometimes, these AI announcement systems are a bit too clever for their own good. For around the last couple of years, the Government has been subsidising the public transport so that ANY journey on a single bus will only cost you £2.00.

Im 70 years old. Have never filled in a tax return, never bought water ( I have a HMA filter attached to my sink tap ) and for the last 25 years have not owned a car. Regarding driving though, if I did not reside in a major urban area ( the Black Country ) I feel that I would need to buy a car again. Public transport needs to be improved hugely.

I'm 53 and have never bothered to learn to drive, despite often living in small, rural communities.

Same thing in Wales.

I've worked in retail for decades. Never had to think about taxes. They don't need to tell you how much you owe. It's taken out of your wages before you are given them. On high amounts, you will have to psy inheritance tax or additional income tax, but only the rich need to think about that.

There is an inheritance tax here... but most people don't earn enough for their estate to be taxed, the minimum threshold is quite high. Also the inheritance tax is paid out of the estate, before any beneficiaries get their cut.

Everything she said relates to the whole of the U.K. and not just England.

We also have free buses and trams for over 60s!

As a Scot it really annoys me that Americans will now believe that it’s only England that does all of of these things instead of the WHOLE of the UK. 🤬

I'm 57, and i have never driven a car in my life.

When she says "England" she should be saying the UK, as these things are just common all over the UK. " TAX SUSTEM" !? Only SELF EMPLOYED people do their own taxes and have an accountant to do it for them. We have the P.A.Y.E. system (Pay As You Earn). The government deducts the relevant taxes and National Insurance on a weekly or monthly basis on your behalf. We have LOCAL SHOPS all over each town , city and village, not just one big out of town shopping area. American bread has so much sugar in it, 3 TIMES THE AMOUNT, that it would be classed as cake in the UK !

Twice today, I have been in a supermarket queue (line) with a hand basket and kind people with full trollies (carts) have told me to go before them. It's in our DNA

Hi Tyler If you take into account your health insurance, you guys must be paying taxes left, right and centre. We don't have any sales tax to pay in our stores, and all food and also books are free of tax from source, anyway. (guide books are especially great bargains). I gather your insurance doesn't even cover everything, anyway.

I live in Australia in the suburbs of Sydney and I own a car, but if I had to, I could get around without one. The bus goes past my door to take me into the heart of me area to shops, my doctor, the local library, the supermarkets (we have four of them), the fruit and veg market, the butcher’s, the hairdresser, the local pub, and as many as ten cafes and ten restaurants! There’s also a train line from where I live that goes in to the CBD, out west, up north or down south. I can even go interstate by train if I need to get to Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide or Perth. We can also fly to any major capital or major rural towns.

even without public transport ..we can also walk pretty much anywhere . me and my family walk all the time into main towns, the next town over or two , walk to school (which pretty much everyone here can do bar a few) and thats not a done thing in America apparently

I’m nearly 60 and have never learned to drive as public transport is readily accessible. I live in a wee village in Scotland and there are several buses a day going to the nearest town. We can also get groceries delivered to the house from the supermarket so I don’t even need to go into the town unless I want to

Its true about American food being addictive. Even with something as basic as bread. American bread has 6x the amount of sugar that British bread has. If I am correct, American bread cannot be sold as bread in Ireland due to it being more akin to cake. It is no wonder that the obesity levels are so high in the US.

I grew up in Canada and now am America. I can relate to a lot of what she is saying. What I like better in America is the Healthcare. If you are able to afford private insurance and you live in an area with good medical facilities you have better options in the USA and shorter wait times than in Canada.

I'm 64 and am from and live in the U.K. and have never learned to drive or owned a car, I haven't needed to as I've always lived in either a town or a city, a car is only really needed if you live in a rural place, have a large family or need it for business, you can do most things using public transport.

In the UK the tax is automatically deducted from our pay. If there are mistakes that haven't been rectified by the end of the year they are sorted out automatically the next year - your allowances just get recalculated to correct it.

I'm 65 I worked from age 14 I have never ever had to work out my tax .we are assigned a tax code when we begin work based on how much we earn .I think its about 12,000 pounds a year for me as a single person.so I can earn 12,000 tax free per year and then after that I pay I think 20 % of whatever I earn after that for the year .if I get charged too much I get an automatic refund. So in winter my hours would reduce and in April I would receive a tax rebate

The UK has had a tax system for over 1500 years. The state have it off to a fine art. If you are employed you are given a tax code for your salary level and tax and National Insurance are calculated on that amount and it is paid each month. The National insurance is used to pay state old age pension, the National Health Service, child benefit. The tax office then deducts that amount form your monthly salary.

I'm 58 and never needed a car and I've lived all over the UK, when I saw tax come up I knew it would blow your mind, PAYE is the way to go.

Even though i have lived in London all my life i would never consider giving up my car. For trips out of town, getting to the airport at unsocial hours etc it still gives greater flexibility even if traffic is horrendous now. And yes the food is waay better here, i always feel sick after a couple of days in the US

I grew up in a tiny tiny little place in the south of England, the nearest regular bus stop was three miles away and there was a very tiny little shop there too. The nearest town, where I went to school was 5 miles away and because there were so few people living where I did, we took a taxi to school paid for by the local council. There was one bus into town on a Saturday morning at 8am and it would bring you home again at 5pm. I assumed that the bus service had stopped now, because of how few people along the route used it, but having checked, it still runs, but now, if you want to get the bus into town, the bus will only come if you prebook your trip 24 hours before hand on an app. It's called Book a bus, because the bus only travels when you need it too. The service runs flexibly between 7am and 7pm, Monday to Saturday. So it's a better service than the one I had as a child.

I live in a town a few miles north of London with no more than 80 thousand people.... buses are every 15 minutes to the town center. The station is right next to the train station and the bus stops to other areas of town are right next to you. They're not high end transport by any means but you can always get where you need to go

When you get to retirement age you get a free bus pass..our buses are subsidised I pay 2 pounds and can travel one way for about 7 miles to the next town .2 pounds will buy you a coffee for comparison

The good transportation is national. There are remote places where there are limited services... but public transport is really good

You declare you're annual income if you are an employee. Also if you are married or single. You are then awarded a tax code based on that and your tax is calculated on that code and along with National Insurance (health) is deducted from your wages automatically. Weekly or monthly, depending which way you are paid. If at the end of the financial year checks they find you have overpaid, they send you a refund by cheque automatically. The system is called pay as you earn P.A.Y.E. It's a good system that keeps the worry and drama over tax out of an employees life. It seems to us that Americans would rather have all that worry and drama than have more "big government" and be regularly pursued by the IRS. It's your lives and your country, good luck with that folks.

It is not the English Tax System. It is His Majesty's Revenue and Customs.

I live in a small village that is in the process of expanding but it has two buses that come through to take us to the local town centre, you can then get one to the main city from there or just explore the businesses in that area.

I live in a village in Cambridgeshire, I do drive but if I catch a bus to the local town there's one every hour during the day, more at rush hours, it takes about 25 minutes. When I get to the train station, it's 50 minutes to London and North to Edinburgh in under 4 hours.

Public transport, I live in a small town of 5,000 and we have 4 bus routes, one local service to connect the neighbouring villages and train station, the others to connect to the bigger towns. Services run every half hour 6am to 8pm weekdays and hourly on weekends 7am-7pm. So it's not a perfect service, but friends with epilepsy, elderly or without a driving licence can till live their lives if they're organised without being dependant.

When it comes to public transport, it does very quite a bit. Towns and cities tend to have very good bus services, and even villages often have decent services. Rural areas or even certain suburban areas though can be poorly served and sometimes having a car is essential. Even where there are buses, these might be infrequent and not run early, late or on weekends, so it can be a problem for those with work commitments, school children, hospital appointments etc.

We have PAYE (Pay As You Earn) and it is the employers job to pay your tax. And the price on the supermarket shelves is what you pay.

Its quite fun seeing Evan Erdinger talk about having to file for UK and US taxes both ? As an employed individual working for a decent sized company, I get a statement at the end of the year telling me what I paid, it can get complicated if you have more than one job. You do get taxed on inheritance and most short term windfalls (bets and investments), if you hold the investment long enough then the tax mostly falls away ?! Most towns and villages seem to have a moderately useful public transport, which becomes largely free once you reach 65 (at the moment ? Until they change the limit as they do with the retirement age)

Not only are income taxes deducted at source ( has been so for at least 40 years). If you earn above a limit you have to file a tax return but it's really well designed (they won prizes for it) and easy to do. In France they've just introduced deductions at source and the tax return forms are printed dark blue on light blue in about 6pt print. Really easy for seniors...

Tyler, she made a very good point about transport when she used the phrase "when I got over my intimidation of using public transport". I have visited the States many times and have always thought that the reason you do not have good transport systems is not that your government does not fund public transport, it is you the American public are so frightened of being next to your fellow citizens. So sad!!

There is a sort of sales tax when purchasing things it's called V.A.T. (value added tax). It doesn't apply to everything; for example it does apply to biscuits/cookies but not to cakes. The main difference though is that VAT is included in the sticker price, so you don't need to calculate the total cost as your doing your grocery shopping or whatever. What you see is what you pay. There are a few stores (mainly wholesalers) which do show both the cost with and without VAT

I live in a tiny village in the countryside in the UK and I can confirm that there is public transport.

Hi from the UK, limey here. I really enjoy this channel the guy is so easy to listen to.

Some comments/corrections from a Canadian in Scotland: Anyone who is self-employed in the UK files their taxes, American style each year. You can do this yourself or you can hire an accountant to do them for you. We do pay tax when we make a purchase (VAT - value added tax) but it's included in the price of the item/service. People can pay tax when they inherit money, it depends how much money is to be inherited. I pay council tax monthly (city taxes).

I have friends who have lived in both the US and UK. They say that the UK has a better work life balance than the US, and complain about how difficult it is to have this balance in the US. We in the UK complain about our work life balance not being as good it is in most of Europe.

I can't remember when I last bought a bag of sugar. It was for a builder. I do occasionally use a little dark brown sugar on porridge, but that's all. I drink cocoa, not drinking chocolate, nothing to sweeten it. It took a while to get used to, but now, I much prefer it.

The US government (IRS) also calculates how much you owe in taxes and knows that, otherwise how would they know you didn't pay enough? Its just that tax companies have lobbied the US government to not let the IRS just tell you how much you owe.

Tax exists on all sorts of things but it's generally included in sales or service charges, and for employees deducted at source before they are paid. If you look at sales receipts or invoices, they will include VAT ( Value Added Tax). Self employed people do have to do self assessment. This applies to the whole UK not just England. Public transport - this varies hugely depending on where you live. Here in Scotland we have free bus travel for over 60s, young adults and people with disabilities and mental health illnesses.

taxes: in Peru, income taxes are mostly calculated automatically and you just need to log in to the tax authority site to make sure everything is done properly and they didn't miss out or double count anything (almost never happens, if at all). it's basically "yes, I agree... declared and signed. thank you" and you might even get something back. it's very complicated for businesses, but I guess that's what makes end-of-year declarations be so smooth for individuals.

British Taxes aren't that simple. Most people though pay taxes though PAYE, or Pay As You Earn. This means that the taxes are taken out of your pay each month before you get the money. Basically your employer pays your tax for you on a monthly basis. For those who are self employed, or have other sources of income, then they are expected to do a self assessment and pay the correct taxes annually, very much like in America. For PAYE, you also get an annual assessment from HMRC, known as a P60, and this shows earnings and tax paid over the year, including any discrepancy. If you have over or under paid, usually this will be sorted by changing your tax code for the following year, so you pay more or less tax until it's corrected. The biggest issues are people who change jobs during the financial year, or who have varying incomes due to working varying hours. These days though employers tend to be better at calculating the correct tax based on changes to income, whereas in the past it was common to get "emergency tax" on your first pay packet at a new job, promotion or pay rise, and often you would end up waiting until after the new financial year to get a cheque with a tax rebate, or if you were unlucky, a tax demand. Working two jobs can also cause tax issues, since you have to pay tax on the two incomes combined, but they are taken separately.

In very rural areas, they have dial-a-ride - you telephone for the bus to come and pick you up. And make arrangements for it to take you back home later (or whenever).

Not only do we not have to calculate out taxes, but the tax is deducted before we get paid. We also have sales tax, but it is included in the marked price

In my region (Merseyside) you are able to travel for free on trains and buses when you reach the age of 60.. I gave my car back to the dealer as I didn't need it. My prescriptions are also free.

The health service is covered by the national insurance payment that you pay as well as the tax (pay as you earn) that comes out of your pay.

for the public transport even the smallest towns have regular buses and things running , where i live just to get to the main shopping centre there is 2 bus routes that can be taken both arriving every 15 minutes.

Some small villages do not have very regular bus services but largely you can manage to travel to wherever you need to go either by bus or train. Some cities and areas have tram or rapid transport systems. almost everywhere has taxis.

Public transport in some areas of the UK is pretty poor. Some areas might not have a bus route, or maybe one every two hours. Personally, Im lucky. I have a bus route into town that stops just five minutes from my front door and goes every 20 mins. My job is encouraging walking and cycling in our local area, and many people are just addicted to their cars. That said, it can often take longer to get somewhere on public transport and may require you to change train or bus during the journey. We need more buses, trains and cycle routes and a shift in mindset to make it a viable alternative for everyone and to help tackle climate change.

We do have sales tax (VAT) on many things (not essentials) but it is also added on automatically, so it's less obvious. It's included in the price (unless you are doing purchasing for a business).

I live in a rural village in Wales, I have 2 buses an hour, which takes me to a central bus station and train station. I also get free bus travel because I am disabled, the buses have a descending ramp, so I can get on. I am proud to be British.

I live just outside a very small village and I can make a request for the bus to collect me at the bottom of my drive and it takes me into town from where I can get a train if I want to, or to the shopping centre, it then delivers me back to my driveway when I return. The bus driver will help me on and off the bus with my shopping.

In the UK self-employed people have to file their own tax returns, but they can pay an accountant to help them. If you are employed then your employer takes care of it for you.

My sister lives in a little Cotswold village - about 9 miles from the nearest biggish town - I think there's only one bus a day! But if you know that then you just adapt and work round the system! I have several friends who have NEVER learned to drive - they don't need to!

It’s fair to say that public transport in the big cities is better than rural communities. Interestingly being over 65 I have a free bus pass to travel anywhere ( not quite any time) never used it yet.

I live in London, have done for over five decades, I have never had a driving license, you’re actually better off on public transport, we are very lucky to have such good systems in place and it is very expensive to drive in London, they actively try to dissuade people from driving in to London, it is always crazy busy, then we have the congestion charge as well, parking in Central London is very expensive too, so, yeah, use our public transport system if you’re visiting London 👍🏻

In the UK, there is what is known as PAYE - "pay as you earn". Tax is automatically deducted from your pay, and if your income is regular it's likely that it'll be exactly the right amount. It's only if you have a second income, are freelance, or your pay varies weekly that there's any real discrepancy, and often you'll end up with a a tax credit at the end of it. And the prices on goods at the supermarket have the tax already calculated in, so they're the same as you pay at the check-out. Small villages don't have good public transport, but most towns do.

*Inland Revenue Service. Not England Revenue Service. Which is the old name for HMRC (His Majesty's Revenue and Customs)

We do have sales tax in the UK or Value Added Tax (VAT) as we call it. The main difference is that it is already in the price that you see. If you see an item for £10 and take it to the till, you pay £10. You don't have to do any calculations. Also, she didn't make it clear, but if you are employed, the tax from your salary has already been deducted by your employer before you receive it so what you're left with is yours. If you are self employed then it is your responsibility to do your taxes at he end of the year. Even then it's easier in the UK. The HMRC (equivalent to the IRS) website makes it easy for the lay person to do this. I am self employed and all of my revenue and expenses go through my business bank account. This account can link up with the HMRC and with a few simple clicks, my taxes are calculated, filed and paid automatically. I think I heard that a system similar to ours was proposed is the US but lobby groups fought against it because there is so much money to be made keeping it as it is.

I am 76 and it is clear to me that times change and to be honest if one lives a long time the further one looks back the more differences stand out which is only logical. Some differences will be for the better and some for the worse. I will give one small example which if developed says much more. That example is that when i was young i remember watching a standard funeral cortege pass by and the policeman saluted and men removed their hats and that my friend says much more than listing the many differences .

WE pay BOTH Inheritance Tax and on Winning's Fpr example if the estate is worth £500,000 and your tax-free threshold is £325,000. The Inheritance Tax charged will be 40% of £175,000 (£500,000 minus £325,000).

Concerning public transport... I live in a rural village in Devon. Population approx 3,000. I could take a bus to the nearest mainline station... which would take about 10 minutes. And there are regular bus services to several nearby towns where you can make connections to other routes, making it totally unnecessary to drive, unless you work unsociable hours or need to travel overnight. I did learn to drive in my 20's but I have never owned a car.

There is a sales tax in Europe, including UK. It is VAT (value added tax). It is pretty high (i.g.20%) People do not realize they pay it because it is included in the price and is not shown separately unlike in USA

Self-employed people do have to do their own tax returns, but if you are an employee your employer deducts tax at source before paying you, as well as your national insurance contributions towards your pension and other state benefits.

All towns, small and large, have regular bus services at least and most have easy access to the rail network, which is extensive. We have over 2500 passengerrailway stations and there are plans for more. Commuter rail links are particularly extensive. London of course has the Tube (Underground), the World's first and the 3rd largest in the Worl, which is still going. It also has extensive rail services, the Docklands (driverless) light railway, which cover much of of East and Central London. It has endless bus routes. I don't even need to check the timetable. I just stand at my local stop, 1 minute from my home and know that a bus, on whichever one of the 5 different routes that stop here, will be along soon. Maybe 2 minutes, maybe 15 minutes. Several parts of London also have tram (trolleycar) services. Outside of London, Glasgow and Newcastles have underground railways and some towns and cities have modern tram services. Many cities have 'Park and Ride' wher there are large car parks on the outskirts, connected to public transport and part of your parking ticket/permit pays for a return ticket on public transport If you're a regular user, you can usually set up a direct debit. For most people public transport, in some form is easily accessible and frequent. However in more remote rural areas, it's more sparse. There may only be 2 or 3 bus services a day and it's further to the nearest rail services. There are really rural areas that may only have a handful of bus services a week, so you really need access to a car, in many (not all) rural areas. However, almost 90% of the population live in urban or suburban areas and even most of those who live in rural areas, live close to a town or city. For most of the population life without a car is perfectly feasible but in some areas it's still essential and in most areas it's convenient to own a car and provides a certain degree of geographical freedom and independence, so car ownership is still high, though nowhere near as high as in the US. The Us has one of the highest car ownerships in the World. In fact take out micro nations and territories like Monaco and Gibraltar and only New Zealand ranks higher. Even with the micro states and territories, the Us is still in the top 10, at about 8th. The UK is down in 37th place. :)

Another thing we had here is community service for non serious crime .elderly people can get their gardens looked after or paintwork repainted or trash removed .canal walks are cleated .local parks have their ratings cleaned and painted .There are many community projects here.we plant fruits and vegetables in parks and open spaces and Radway stations instead of flowers .my local station the flower beds are full of mint chives rosemary thyme basil oregano winter savoury sorrel lemon balm

“The England Revenue Service” 😂 HM Inland Revenue is essentially the same as the IRS. For most people income tax is handled using “page as you earn” (PAYE) so taken off at source by the employer and paid to Inland Revenue leaving a net income on the pay slip. Those with additional incomes or self employed usually have to submit annual tax returns. Inheritance tax is applied, but there is a threshold below which no tax is paid, eg £350k. There are some differences between England and Scotland.

In my part of Scotland the bus service exists on paper but often doesn't turn up. It's very expensive too. Its fine if you are going from one town to another but if you need to get to rural areas it' s difficult and time consuming- you have to allow for a long walk once you get off the bus. If you go into the Highlands or the South West of Scotland public transport is poor.

Taxes are done by employers in England and taken monthly through wages throughout the year.

If you are employed (as opposed to self employed) you never have to sort out tax. It is all done automatically as PAYE (pay as you earn) and the money that you get paid has already had tax removed. The only exceptions are a tax covering local costs based on your house value (again this is calculated for you), tax on your car (this is calculated for you) and on purchases (added into the cost so you never see it).

Having lived in America for 2 years in the 90s, I can really appreciate British food. In the States everything is so sweet, including their bread.....

From a British person . When it comes to restaurants in the states , for me personally America tops the list by a country mile . Sitting on a plane heading for Dallas my first thoughts were never mind the jet lag i need to hit a genuine texan steak house . I absolutely love the whole American restaurant thing . As for British food or restaurants personally i feel our food is ok , But we get these restaurants opening up based on the American steakhouse or Burger joint . And some are light years behind in quality and presentation in the uk . We have 5 guys out here , which is expensive but quality because the staff are trained to a high standard in cooking and presentation. It's good because the owners keep an eye on quality . I would love to see In&out burger restaurants in the uk absolutely superb in quality and presentation in my view . Mc Donalds in the uk you can take it or leave it . Some are ok but ive had burgers from others that you could use as basket balls. So America wins this by a mile . Lastly we need to save the British pub to many going out of business due to tax on booze . This cant be aloud . Its part of the British culture.

when you inherit money there is an inheritance tax, and your accountants and tax planners as an industry are structured around finding ways to reclaim money from the tax-man or moving it to your descendents in ways that don't get taxed. Public transport wise, I lived in a really rural village, and we had a bus that would leave towards the nearest town on a Wednesday, and return on a Thursday, so that wasn't -really- ideal. Then it was a 15 minute walk across fields to get to the train station which I did daily to get to and from university for four years.

We do have great food, high food standards, re. chemical restriction used in farming etc ….

True about pizza…. I love the UK tax system because when I was a student working part time, I used to get a cheque when they’ve over collected thinking I’m working all year. I get all the tax payments back because I’m below the tax threshold.

Same thing in Sweden concerning taxes. Super easy! It has been like that for many decades.

Public transport. consider the density of people. It has a major effect on the viability of public transport. Used to be EU food standards. Personal opinion was a lot of the push for brexit, where the UK left the EU, were led by those wanting to reduce standards due to the potential money making possibilities for individuals.

If you are employed you’re very likely earning PAYE (pay as you earn), your salary already has the taxes deducted when you get each wage. You only file your own taxes if you’re self-employed. If you lose your job part way through the year, well your wages up to that point were taxed presuming you’d get a full year salary… so you might end up in a situation where your wage each month/week was over taxed. In April HMRC just send you a cheque with your rebate automatically

even tiny villages have buses . there may be just one or they only run for a very limited time but they are still there