To be confused by 'high earners' complaining about taxes?

Just as a point of comparison, these are the current marginal tax rates and brackets in the US. They top out at 37% for individuals income over $640k pa.

https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/federal/2026-tax-brackets/

Note that the brackets adjust for inflation each year, which prevents people from getting pulled into higher tax bands without their spending power increasing.

extra pension contributions to offset it ?

You want to tax the most globally mobile people in the world more? The people that countries around the world are competing to attract because of the massive economic benefits they bring? You don't think they will leave? You don't think this will reduce overall tax take in the UK? The figures show they already are leaving.

This is the second unintelligent, goady thread that I've opened (the other being the whites in the minority one). Is there something in the water at the moment?

What on earth are you on about? The top slice of my income from my earned income is taxed at 67.5%. There's nothing that can be done about that.

Lord sugar

• benefitted from growing up on a council estate at a time when such a thing was more available. If he was alive now his parents would be renting privately and he would have less stability.
• made a substantial chunk of his money from real estate investment in London. There's nothing wrong with that. But the government invested massive amounts into improving parts of London- the East End, bits round Shepherds Bush. Also every time a new tube station opens house prices shoot up. The people who bought land or buildings before that government investment paid of made an absolute fortune. Good for them but it was facilitated by government spending.
• he made money early in his career through electronics but only tipped over into billionaire status through his work with the BBC (the Apprentice). Which is again a public service

He made his money honestly from very modest beginnings. Good for him. He worked hard. But he also benefitted from government spending- far more than someone in a minimum wage job topping up their income with UC. That isn't bad. The dishonesty comes when people don't want to contribute back because they tell themselves they earned it all themselves with zero help. That's not possible.

At the other end of the spectrum you have people who inherited vast sums and used that wealth to leverage vast government subsidies to further increase their wealth. That isn't good for society on the whole. And means there will be less opportunities for future generations to do what Alan Sugar did.

why not use fancy accountants ?

Do you think my brother and I don't pay tax? My headline income tax rate is 67.5% How much more would you like from me?

Yes a billion is a big number. I did some research and most are self made. They've created and set up businesses that we consumers enjoy using. The devices we are using to communicate are thanks billionaires.

Lord sugar for example was council estate to billionaire. Even those who grew up with high earning parents, they've turned whatever the received into *1000 times that.

Not everyone's on NMW, let's be honest about that. Many are working and getting paid well. Many have high paying jobs with interesting and intellectual careers. Many of these jobs are sought out for.

Your farmer brother has almost certainly benefited from subsidies** paid for by taxes though. I have no problem with that. Farming is an essential industry unlike any other and it's hard to balance food being affordable with farms being consistently profitable (or breaking even). But while some farmers are barely scraping by, some farmers are immensely wealthy not just in land but in income. And some farm owners are actually wealthy landowners of large tracts of rented or subcontracted land. Those people can afford to pay some tax back. If your brother isnt in the fantastically wealthy category I am sure no-one wants to take his farm from him. But presumably you would appreciate someone pays taxes to make sure his farm survives in hard times? If not the rich then who?

**Plus the spending on roads, rail, energy infrastructure, etc etc that make farming an industrial not a subsistence level endeavour

You're moving the goalposts. You didn't say "rarely create billionaires", you said rarely creating wealth to those below them.

Stock options create wealth for employees. I'm sorry you don't have them in the UK. Perhaps the reason is tax-related.

Rarely billions though. To make that much you either have to:

• inherit vast sums
• benefit from massive government contracts and subsidies
• run a sex trafficking blackmail scheme
• write a fantastically succesful series of books/music
• some combination of the above

JKR is awesome but she's also happy to pay tax. Also she isn't quite a billionaire because she gives so much away.
Its quite hard on the whole to be a billionaire "honestly". Anyone who is has benefitted from the public one way or the other and can afford to pay back

It's funny how you think billionaires are generally self made business people that's really the case and they're rarely creating wealth to those below them.

Perhaps it's rare in the UK. It's pretty common in the US for employees to get stock options that can make them a lot of money, particularly when startups go public.

https://www.cultofmac.com/apple-history/apple-ipo-goes-public

Established companies offer stock options as well. Our first house deposit came from my husband's stock options.

We’re down 55 billionaires this year in the U.K. and we have 156 left, those 156 pay direct taxes totalling around 10 billion a year. That’s more than twice the income tax from Birmingham. We don’t get anything from the 55 who left.

I don't think you're really appreciating how much money even a single billion pounds is. It's funny how you think billionaires are generally self made business people that's really the case and they're rarely creating wealth to those below them. Thanks mr billionaire for my minimum wage job that doesn't cover food and rent, prevents mothers from raising children themselves. Honestly stop cucking for the rich they don't care about you, they just want to benefit from the educated and healthy workforce this secure country provides while paying as little back as possible.

I have no issues with those with large wealth. Compared to the single mum (who is doing a tough job raising kids on her own) a billionaire has either set up, created or invested in successful companies that have created produces and services that benefitted us. Their companies have probably spurred innovation and employ many people allowing them to feed themselves and their families.

Once we pass away we hope everything we've made and whatever property we have will go to our children. We hope to also protect the futures of any future grandchildren and further descendants.

Oh no doubt you'd be cock a hoop to take the farm I grew up on from my brother when he dies - after all he inherited it from our grandfather and my nephew can't possibly deserve it.

Really?

There seem to be plenty of posters on here who resent the fact that anyone in that tiny band of tax payers exist at all - except of course to be taxed at eye - watering rates because we deserve it.

I'm fed up of the criticism tbh. So far as the NHS, how much money is wasted?

Today I collected a prescription from Boots and asked to buy a non prescription but pharmacist only medication. The pharmacist asked me if I wanted it "from the pharmacy" . I didn't know what he meant but apparently I can, if I want, waste NHS time, money and resources by getting Boots to process a prescription for an item I can easily afford to buy.

You're confusing a decent salary with generational wealth. You're not on my radar.

I'm never going to vote Reform.

I earn around £120,000. My headline tax rate became I'm in Scotland is 67.5%- just curious how much more of what I earn do you think I should hand over?

When they just get richer existing. Generational Wealth that hasn't been earned. There is no billionaire who works harder than a single mum holding it together .

People suggesting because the NHS is underfunded is a result of 14 years of Tory leadership.. and what's happening these reform window lickers are just voting them back in...We need to be taxing those who can afford it even more. The super rich, not yourselves who have decent jobs. Those with generational wealth just growing exponentially.

Why should they not get upset about it? They pay an exuberant amount of tax and receive very little in return. They get attacked for "daring" to do well in life. They have to pay and fund those on benefits as well. What's so shocking about wanting to enjoy the fruits of your labour? High pay is due to hard work and skill.

If someone has never cleared £25k/pa in their entire adult life I'd seriously wonder about the choices they made that led up to this (barring disabilities or major life catastrophes). One of the reasons I've always hammered into my kids the need to do well at school.

I have a young adult DC working. They are on 30k and want to move up and be more senior and get paid more. They see higher salaries as something to aspire to and work towards.

If you can possibly start to pay your own way and for your family (even if it just covers the cost) so my tax can be spent on infrastructure, police, defence etc then I’d be willing to send you a daily thank you email, sms, WhatsApp whatever medium you choose.

Im not on £400k a year. I don’t mind paying my fair share of taxes to support pensioners and people who are genuinely ill and cannot work. I don’t even mind the subsidies benefits to working parents who get a top up. I don’t mind paying my taxes to support the NHS, local services and so on and so forth.

What I do mind is paying benefits to people who don’t work and keep having children they can’t afford. I mind paying extra taxes for hotels and taxi rides for people who enter the country illegally.

As far as being “deserving” the person who works and earns their money are the ones deserving of it.

The problem with the welfare system and high taxes is it slows growth and eventually you run out of people who actually contribute to society to support the ones who contribute nothing. Then what ?