Tax bracket up to 50% for big earners

damn! there goes the plan for asking for a payrise

[timwilky]

Whilst I an unfortunate enough not to earn enough to be affected by this particular change, a few in my extended family are. would this be sufficient to make them sod off abroad?

No, they did it years ago and this confirms they were right to move to the channel islands and IoM and base their businesses there

Nurses have stressful jobs... they dont get paid £100k a year...
Doctors have stressful jobs...most of them dont get £100k a year...

I think the Govt leaders Brown etc should all take a pay cut, pay themselves minimum wage for a year and see how the frack they cope. They are so full of double standards.

And while I'm at it - the fuel price hikes could put my father-in-law, 3 different uncles and my OH out of business in the next four years.

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by gruntygiggles

Because I believe in a rolling scale.

Well I don't! I guess because I see it as penalising high achievers. Since tax is a percentage of salary, folks on higher salaries still pay more in tax. Those on massive salaries pay massive tax. Making those on higher salaries pay even more will drive them out of the country.

The Brain Drain of top staff leaving the UK in the late 60's and 70's due to punitive levels of taxation left this country bereft of talent.

[the_lone_wolf]

Originally Posted by gruntygiggles

Does that make sense?

Perfectly

But it still doesn't eplain to me why someone earning £200k deserves to have more of it taken away, in %age terms, than someone who earns £40k

Do they place more of a burden on the state?

Have they done something wrong in entering a profession that demands such salaries and the additional tax is a method of being punished for it?

If you met two people who you'd never seen before, they were dressed identically and looked equally professional, how would you decide which has to pay 20% of his salary to the gov and the other 50% At the end of the day they're both one person, what about them, apart from an arbitrary number on their payslip, makes one more deserving of his money than the other

[gruntygiggles]

I would personally love to have a 20% tax on my earnings. Three years ago when I was still a partner in my old company, I paid over £45k in tax to the goverment and that was sickening. As much as I would love to not have to have paid that much in tax that year, I don't personally mind paying a little more in tax as a percantage than someone on the national average wage or lower. BUT.....If I am paying higher tax, I would rather those on minimum wage or very low earnings pay a little less tax. I guess to be able to bring a little balance. I remember when I was on £12k and thinking, wow....that's £1000 a month ( I was young and it was my first job). Got my first pay cheque and had the shock of my life. It was nowhere near what I was expecting and scuppered some of the plans I'd made. So.....I personally don't mind paying a little more tax so that people at the lower end of the salary bracket can pay a little less and be a little better off.

Originally Posted by Luckypants

Yes I agree, why should higher earners pay a higher rate of tax than others?

I think we've had this one out so many times in the past there's not much point going over the same arguments (not to LP in particular, just quoting the sentiment)

But for what it's worth, my general point again and again is disposable income. There are so many costs in life that are largely flat or on a very gradual slope. We all need to drink X litres of liquid a day to survive, regardless of whether your rich or poor. The person on 10K a year spends a far greater proportion of their income on tax and necessities than the person on 150K a year.

As for the old argument of "if we tax them they'll go away, oh noes". Well given that a large proportion of those on 150K workers are in the City I guess sympathy is pretty low for them right now. Other group of people on large salaries run their own businesses and that gives significant bonuses when you can wear an MD hat and an employee hat. Dividends, pension schemes, director loans, hell I ran a company motorbike for a while and claimed the VAT back on my ginger nuts. If you're earning 150K a year and getting that entirely through PAYE salary well I'd say we're not losing any great brains if they flee - the clever ones work out how to minimise that tax burden. The unfair thing is that those options are only really open to the rich.

And pilots? (or jumped up bus drivers as I refer to my helicopter flying friend - he loves that). Are you sure that problem is specific to the UK? Now I only know a couple of pilots over here and one in the states, hardly a solid base to draw conclusions from, but I know that the one in the states is as disillusioned as the two over here.

Originally Posted by fenjer

Doctors have stressful jobs...most of them dont get £100k a year...

You think? I used to work with 300GPs in my last job, and a high proportion (over 55%) were earning over 100K in total.

A high proportion of them were also not working full weeks (approx 35%). Some were, by nature of being involved in various NHS quangos and 'special interest' schemes, working as little as two days a week for a £40Kpa salary on top of whatever they were making in practice.

[timwilky]

When was the John Major election surprise win? 1992 I think, the real reason that labour failed then was the statements made on taxing the rich.

When asked to define "the rich" a senior labour politician of the time (I cannot remember who) said those earning over £35,000. When this was analysed it was found that the rich now included senior teachers, police inspectors and many white collar workers. No wonder a new term "Middle England" came out. Those of us that had worked hard, developed into a position where we could look after our families without recourse to benifits etc. But apparently we were rich. No wonder all those who screamed but we are not rich did not vote labour and John Major surprisingly snatched it.

The lessons learned, New labour promised no income tax rises and got in in 97. Now they are not going after the mythical rich, but the mythical super rich. Those who are rewarded for being wealth creators are now the focus of a government that has squandered the income of the past 12 years. What was it that Brown used to say? "No return to boom and bust economics". Tell me Gordon, what investment over the past 12 years with all that extra money have you done to ensure Britain would not be adversely effected by a global economic down turn. Answer is bugger all and boom &bust is all part of the economic life cycle and you got caught up in your own spin

[gruntygiggles]

Originally Posted by the_lone_wolf

Perfectly

But it still doesn't eplain to me why someone earning £200k deserves to have more of it taken away, in %age terms, than someone who earns £40k

Do they place more of a burden on the state?

Have they done something wrong in entering a profession that demands such salaries and the additional tax is a method of being punished for it?

If you met two people who you'd never seen before, they were dressed identically and looked equally professional, how would you decide which has to pay 20% of his salary to the gov and the other 50% At the end of the day they're both one person, what about them, apart from an arbitrary number on their payslip, makes one more deserving of his money than the other

In an ideal world, as I have said before, I would love to pay less tax and keep more of my money and I have also said that I don't agree with the tax hike for the very reason that we would be penalising the people that support the economy, create jobs and work hard for the salary that they get. At the moment I'm getting paid to sit at home and not do much, but it won;t last much longer and I'll be back to the grind again. Before I left exec search, I was working 100+ hour weeks and it was ruining me, so you're darn right I should have been able to keep what I earned.

BUT, I am acepting of the fact that we can support the economy more by paying a little more tax. My main problem with hiking the tax now is that it will not go into the economy and make a difference to those that need it. Itw ill go to paying off debts that have come about through pi$$ poor running of the country.

Think how much money would be saved each year if everyone that was fit and able to work was made to work, not eat up the benefits that we pay for???

It's true, it's no wonder people want to leave and go abroad.

SO......I don't mind paying tax, and I don't mind paying a little more if need be, but make it fair and make sure that the sacrifice I am making by giving up some of my hard earned wages is worth it by distributing it properly, not by paying debts and allowing inflated egos with inflated salaries to continue running the country into the ground!