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Original poster

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

981 replies

tutuland · 10/02/2026 18:25

So high earners pay lots of tax. The top 20% pay for 70% or whatever the numbers are.

But (beyond printing more money) isn't the money there high income people make just coming from the paying public? No matter who you work for, your company's profit is just an accumulation of normal people paying for things.

So ultimately, isn't it all our money anyway? Just beacuse the game is rigged and you get paid 400K for management whatever, it doesn't mean you're more deserving of that money than anyone.

OP posts:
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Original poster
tutuland · 10/02/2026 21:33

MissConductUS · 10/02/2026 21:28

This. Wages are set largely by supply and demand. Employers pay high wages to certain employees because it is profitable to do so.

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How is that fair? Employers get their cash from the paying public generally. Sure this is the current model of civilisation we have to live within- but how on earth is that fair.

I'd respect you lot if you said "I've learned to play the capitalism game really well and I want to enjoy my money. I don't want to think about other people and their needs".

It's the pretending that unpalatable.

OP posts:
Lougle · 10/02/2026 21:32

MajesticWhine · 10/02/2026 18:43

I think the problem with high levels of tax is when people don’t bother working any more, and slow down their efforts because why bother? They wont get to keep much of it. This damages the economy because it harms growth and aspiration, which means less money for everyone. It also directly affects healthcare when, for example, surgeons don’t bother working full time because it’s not worth their time. I am near the 100k tax cliff edge (through various different sources of income) and I make very little effort to grow my own tiny sole trader business because for each extra £100 profit I earn I will essentially only keep £40.

That's about the same as Universal Credit recipients. But people have no sympathy if they say they don't want to increase their hours for the same reason.

IDontHateRainbows · 10/02/2026 21:30

LesserSootyOwl · 10/02/2026 18:37

Say a CEO does a terrible job and the company goes bankrupt. Hundreds of people lose their jobs. Don't you think it's worth paying the most senior people well to stop that kind of thing happening?

.

catipuss · 10/02/2026 21:30

tutuland · 10/02/2026 21:16

Maybe some nurses would like to not make 250K but live in a fair society where healthcare is a human right not a privilege.

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The trouble is it's cripplingly expensive to provide all possible treatment to everybody. When the NHS was started most treatments were simple and inexpensive, now the sky's the limit, heart ops, brain ops, gene therapy, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, MRI scans, IVF, etc, etc, people expect more and more and a free at point of use health service gets over whelmed by demand, it's a bottomless pit of expense.

MTOandMe · 10/02/2026 21:29

tutuland · 10/02/2026 21:17

Yes but where did these high earners get their money? Beyond actually mining for bitcoin- your money came from the pockets of society.

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So, if a person on benefits is buying a product from (putting money in the pockets of) a person who is a high earner thus paying a higher rate of tax, could it not be argued that the person selling is actually paying for those goods due to their tax contributions? Being that the person buying the product is buying it using benefit money provided by the higher earner?

Original poster
tutuland · 10/02/2026 21:29

TestingDaily · 10/02/2026 21:26

He deserves it because his employer wants to pay him that much. He's on the brink of partnership at his organisation. I won't say what exact service line he's in. But he works tirelessly to deliver for the clients and often works 80-90 hour weeks. He's constantly on call and even has to work weekends to deliver. Clients are super happy with him and want him to continue working with him.

Surgeons are "allowed to make £100k+" but others can't. Taxi drivers and those at McDonald's are less skilled.

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What exactly is he skilled in? Powerpoint and excel.

He's cleverly worked himself up the capitalism ladder. He works long hours because he's chosen to do so for lots of money. Lots of people work long intense hours, with specialised knowledge, without the same amount of money.

Deserve, he does not.

OP posts:
MissConductUS · 10/02/2026 21:28

TestingDaily · 10/02/2026 21:26

He deserves it because his employer wants to pay him that much. He's on the brink of partnership at his organisation. I won't say what exact service line he's in. But he works tirelessly to deliver for the clients and often works 80-90 hour weeks. He's constantly on call and even has to work weekends to deliver. Clients are super happy with him and want him to continue working with him.

Surgeons are "allowed to make £100k+" but others can't. Taxi drivers and those at McDonald's are less skilled.

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This. Wages are set largely by supply and demand. Employers pay high wages to certain employees because it is profitable to do so.

ArtificialInaccuracy · 10/02/2026 21:27

ScaryM0nster · 10/02/2026 19:02

OP - would you expect to be paid more in your role if you took on increased responsibility/ got promoted?

Do you generally expect that increase in your pay to actually make it into an increase in your take home pay?

Most people do.

The quirk with high earners is that what they get to keep as a proportion of those increases is much lower than for low earners.

Depending on what you earn, a £10k increase in your annual pay can mean anything from a £9k increase in your take home to a £3.5k increase. For the same pay rise.

To some that doesn’t seem reasonable.

It can actually mean a loss of £20k in net pay.

TestingDaily · 10/02/2026 21:26

tutuland · 10/02/2026 21:14

What does your husband do that he 'deserves' 250k?

More than a surgeon, a taxi driver, guy working night shift at McDonalds.

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He deserves it because his employer wants to pay him that much. He's on the brink of partnership at his organisation. I won't say what exact service line he's in. But he works tirelessly to deliver for the clients and often works 80-90 hour weeks. He's constantly on call and even has to work weekends to deliver. Clients are super happy with him and want him to continue working with him.

Surgeons are "allowed to make £100k+" but others can't. Taxi drivers and those at McDonald's are less skilled.

MissConductUS · 10/02/2026 21:23

tutuland · 10/02/2026 21:15

Who said no profit? Just higher taxes.

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Taxes reduce profits, lowering the incentives to work and invest in the shop or open new shops.

High marginal tax rates thus lead to lower economic growth, which in turn leads to lower tax receipts to fund government.

Ionlymakejokestodistractmyself · 10/02/2026 21:22

cassgate · 10/02/2026 18:34

Well when you pay 75k in tax a year and can’t get a gp appointment and are forced to go private and your mum waits 22 hours for an ambulance while laying on the floor with a fractured pelvis, then yes I think that is something you complain about.

But surely you could complain about that if you paid 7K in tax as well?

Especially given that on a salary that pays 75k in tax, you definitely have the option to go private...

catipuss · 10/02/2026 21:20

MissConductUS · 10/02/2026 21:09

Correct. In the UK, the NHS has a near monopoly on the employment of medical professionals. In the U.S., medical practices and hospitals compete to hire them. Nurses here can easily make 80k USD per year, and more with specialized experience.

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And the patients pay for it, we don't want to pay but expect someone to fund big wages and world class treatment. Both systems are flawed.

Original poster
tutuland · 10/02/2026 21:19

Catapultaway · 10/02/2026 21:16

Or where would you be without the high earners subsidising you...

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So high earners (beyond those actually mining bitcoin) are getting paid from the pockets of many, many members of society.

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Original poster
tutuland · 10/02/2026 21:18

Why does everyone report things like that? I'm not being goady. You cant even handle a conversation about this Lol

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Original poster
tutuland · 10/02/2026 21:17

Catapultaway · 10/02/2026 21:16

Or where would you be without the high earners subsidising you...

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Yes but where did these high earners get their money? Beyond actually mining for bitcoin- your money came from the pockets of society.

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Original poster
tutuland · 10/02/2026 21:16

TestingDaily · 10/02/2026 21:10

I've told NHS nurses this and they respond very angrily about "privatisation"

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Maybe some nurses would like to not make 250K but live in a fair society where healthcare is a human right not a privilege.

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Catapultaway · 10/02/2026 21:16

5128gap · 10/02/2026 21:12

I think the point she's making is that consumers have to pay more for things because businesses are paying a lot to high earners and shareholders, and that those people wouldn't have their money if it wasn't for the rest of us paying for over the odds for things. So, in short, where would high earners be without us?

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Or where would you be without the high earners subsidising you...

Higgledypiggledy864 · 10/02/2026 21:16

tutuland · 10/02/2026 18:25

So high earners pay lots of tax. The top 20% pay for 70% or whatever the numbers are.

But (beyond printing more money) isn't the money there high income people make just coming from the paying public? No matter who you work for, your company's profit is just an accumulation of normal people paying for things.

So ultimately, isn't it all our money anyway? Just beacuse the game is rigged and you get paid 400K for management whatever, it doesn't mean you're more deserving of that money than anyone.

Bonkers

catipuss · 10/02/2026 21:15

tutuland · 10/02/2026 21:04

How do you deserve it more? More than a freshly graduate doctor?

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The doctor chose to be a doctor, they could have started there own business or gone on benefits. They knew what the career progression was and of course the options to leave the UK once they were qualified and earn much more abroad. All up to them.

What you are talking about is true communism, everyone contributes what they can and everyone gets what they need. No one gets more than that, theoretically of course it never works out like that somehow. What happens to those who don't/won't contribute? don't ask!

Original poster
tutuland · 10/02/2026 21:15

MissConductUS · 10/02/2026 21:12

If there was no profit to reward shop owners, there would be no shops.

Yes, that’s capitalism.

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Who said no profit? Just higher taxes.

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Original poster
tutuland · 10/02/2026 21:14

5128gap · 10/02/2026 21:12

I think the point she's making is that consumers have to pay more for things because businesses are paying a lot to high earners and shareholders, and that those people wouldn't have their money if it wasn't for the rest of us paying for over the odds for things. So, in short, where would high earners be without us?

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Yes thanks!

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Original poster
tutuland · 10/02/2026 21:14

TestingDaily · 10/02/2026 20:24

My husband earns just under £200k and with his upcoming promotion is negotiating a bump to £250k. He works very hard and has sacrificed a lot for us. He deserves every single penny.

What does your husband do that he 'deserves' 250k?

More than a surgeon, a taxi driver, guy working night shift at McDonalds.

OP posts:
TestingDaily · 10/02/2026 21:12

NorthXNorthWest · 10/02/2026 21:11

Because that works so well in the US...

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I'd say that each state in the US the different. The US system has major laws as well. But there's a world apart from the just the NHS and the USA.

5128gap · 10/02/2026 21:12

Jamesblonde2 · 10/02/2026 18:32

How much tax do you pay OP for education, health and roads? Where would we be without high earners do you think?

I think the point she's making is that consumers have to pay more for things because businesses are paying a lot to high earners and shareholders, and that those people wouldn't have their money if it wasn't for the rest of us paying for over the odds for things. So, in short, where would high earners be without us?

MissConductUS · 10/02/2026 21:12

tutuland · 10/02/2026 21:06

Ultimately, the shop owner's profit came from the pockets of customers.. It capitalism isnt it?

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If there was no profit to reward shop owners, there would be no shops.

Yes, that’s capitalism.