View Full Version : Discounted PC's via NHS
parahandy
12-11-2005, 22:00
My wife who works for the NHS has been told about some government scheme where you can get laptops or PC's discounted.
You pay 36 months to make up the retail value (ex VAT) of the PC, but because it's taken directly off your gross salary (ie before tax), you save money.
You can buy a PC or a notebook then various accessories.
Okay, after three years the PC might be a bit outdated (and their not top-of the range), but they'd do for the prices.
Anyone got any experience of this? Quite fancy the notebook (Dell Inspiron I think) and a Dell PDA (not 'cos I need one, just because...)
I think this is better suited to the Supplier Forum
Moving
homerjhandley
12-11-2005, 22:04
my wok does thre same, called the home computer initiative.
you are renting as after 3 years it becomes mproperty of your emplyer.
OliverScott
12-11-2005, 22:44
You do have the option of paying a bit extra to own it at the end of the three years however...
Most councils and a lot of big businesses now offer this scheme.
What is ABSOLUTELY CRIMINAL however is that if you are a higher earner (ie in a higher tax band) you get your PC cheeper than less well paid people!!!
As an example from Somerset County Council's scheme (approximate figures):
PC which would normally be £460
Lower earners get it for £350
Higher earners get it for £300
I just can't understand how they could possibly think that this was a good way to do things!!!! :mad:
I can SORT of understand the government's idea of wanting to assist people in getting PCs and getting on the internet (especially if they couldn't otherwise afford it), though I don't personally think they should be spending money on this.
BUT basically other people are having to work and pay tax so a well paid person can get to pay less tax and hence get a discounted PC (and not just a basic PC - in the Somerset County Council sheme they can choose to have a £1500 gaming rig or an LCD TV(s) or PDA(s) and save £600 by not paying £600 of tax).
And which UK company has Somerset County Council (and probably lots of other places) decided to give the business generated by this scheme? You guessed it! The American owned, indian employing, DELL. As if they don't have a big enough marked share as it is :(
It makes me very very annoyed with this government for coming up with this stupid idea/system.
If anyone can think of anything to say in its defense then please do so!
No. This sounds outrageous and I cannot believe it, are you sure this is right? Can you point to any info which would explain the thinking behind it!?
Floop
Constantine
12-11-2005, 23:12
Would a higher earner not end up getting more benefit because they are paying a higher rate of tax/NI? ie therefore the savings are proportionally higher.
The idea is to give everyone a chance to be online at home.
I am awaiting delivery of a top spec Dell laptop (including 3 year warranty), all-singing Brother printer and Office - costing £21 a month with a final payment of £90 to make it mine after 3 years.
Best staff benefit, ever :clap:
horny toad
13-11-2005, 18:07
No. This sounds outrageous and I cannot believe it, are you sure this is right? Can you point to any info which would explain the thinking behind it!?
It's to discourage employees who may have a very low disposable income from becoming financially burdened by the scheme...some low earners are excluded because of this.
horny toad
13-11-2005, 18:17
My wife who works for the NHS
Is she an OT by any chance?
Would a higher earner not end up getting more benefit because they are paying a higher rate of tax/NI? ie therefore the savings are proportionally higher.
The idea is to give everyone a chance to be online at home.
I am awaiting delivery of a top spec Dell laptop (including 3 year warranty), all-singing Brother printer and Office - costing £21 a month with a final payment of £90 to make it mine after 3 years.
Best staff benefit, ever :clap:
£21 month X 12 months X 3 years = £756 + £90 = £846
Doesn't seem that cheap compared to some of the Dell systems on offer recently!!
No. This sounds outrageous and I cannot believe it, are you sure this is right? Can you point to any info which would explain the thinking behind it!?
It's simply because the payments are taken from your gross pay, so someone paying a higher rate of tax benefits more. As a simple comparison, 2 workers, one earning £20k a year, the other earning £50k a year both buy a £1,000 computer and pay over the course of 1 year.
Wage Tax NI
50,000 - 11959.2 - 3238.32 = 34,802.48
49,000 - 11559.2 - 3228.32 = 34,212.48
---------
590.00
20,000 - 3072.30 - 1662.32 = 15,265.38
19,000 - 2852.30 - 1552.32 = 14,595.38
---------
670.00
The £1k reduction in gross pay "costs" the lower paid worker more, because they are paying less tax on that £1k to begin with (22%), as opposed to the higher earner who is paying 40%.
They also get 20% off at nandos, and some kind of car discount. Does anyone know anymore details on the car because the OH is a bit challenged with numbers over 7
If anyone can think of anything to say in its defense then please do so!
As far as I can see, there is nothing wrong with the system of offering a PC to people free of income tax. That's all it is. Tax free. No extra discounts depending on what you earn. No extra discounts depending on where you live. It's simply a way of the Government endeavouring to give people a chance to own/lease a PC without having to pay income tax on the money they pay for it.
There is a simple choice, you can either decide to go ahead and purchase/lease one, or you can decide not to go ahead and lease one. There's no obligation.
I think some people may have a bigger problem with the current income tax system in the UK.
The arguemnet was used that people who earn less, pay more for the PC over the 3 year term. I think it is truer to say that people who earn less, pay less tax and therefore make a smaller saving than people who earn more.
As someone who earns £70,000/year, I pay £21,000 in income tax/year. Someone who earns £20,000/year only pays £3,500 in income tax/year, yet I don't get 6x the benefits, and nor would I expect them. In fact there are people who pay no tax at all (anyone earning about £90/week or less), and they get precisely the same benefits as everyone else.
The tax system is by no means a perfect system, but it is a pool and is there to benefit everyone. High earners, low earners and unemployed. I can't see how someone who pays less tax can complain about a tax free system giving a bigger tax deduction to someone who pays more tax.
I, for one, have taken advantage of this offer and my company have decided to offer HP computers rather than Dell. I have seen the Dell offerings and was not impressed in the least with Dell's choice of what can be leased. The HP choices were far better.
Kevin
Lemm, you are a genius. Will you do my taxes?
Seriously, thanks for taking the time to show that... I 'get' it now!
Floop
EazyDude
14-11-2005, 22:34
There's also a legitimate licensed copy of Office that can be attained through HCI for some silly price. I got my copy for £17.63 or something like that. Small print says that you can only use it whilst working for the trust that you bought it through, or something similar.
Worth investigating for some...
Orange Duck
20-11-2005, 22:38
Tesco has just started an offer like this for staff
We just had an offer like this, but the laptops although got were already old models.
Constantine
21-11-2005, 09:06
£21 month X 12 months X 3 years = £756 + £90 = £846
Doesn't seem that cheap compared to some of the Dell systems on offer recently!!
Perhaps. Did they come with 3 years interest free credit (along with multifunction printer & Office)?
We have just had this offer from work and the PC is sold to us from BT, nowhere on the paperwork does it say you own the PC just that its rented and they might sell it to us and it could be 5%, and if you leave the company ALL the remaining payments of the eqipment comes out of your final salary
Also the PC's are sold at full RRP after discounts etc you could find cheaper direct from Dell of course you would get it intrest free buying through the work scheme.
The site is below if anybody wants to have a look although there were loads more PC's in the booklet from HP and Dell, also a FAQ relating to the scheme,.
http://www.bthomecomputing.com/anglian
rich.steed
21-11-2005, 19:06
My wife works for Stoke-On-Trent council and they have a similar scheme but you can get up to £1000 to spend at PC World on anything other than cameras. Just got to see if there's anything worth the money azt PC World (and whether you can use it to buy tellys :) )
Rich
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