Labour isn't working - Thread 16

[TheNuthatch]

A chat thread for those who don't like this Labour government. 💙

The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.

Previous thread:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5433563-labour-isnt-working-thread-15?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=share

Another day, another policy clueless on consequences.

I'm absolutely set that if pension tax relief goes then DH and I will take unpaid time off each year rather than pay punitive tax.

Then we get 100% of the benefit of extra time as a family. IIm actually really looking forward to it.❤ Yes, it will cost and our savings and pension will go down, but at least we get the benefit of it. I'm starting to think that the only safe money is spent money.

Not so great for the government, which will lose out on taxing us both on the pension income when we do retire... and will also lose out on a bit of corporation tax and GDP growth each year (my work directly increases the profit of the company I work for, amd anyone who can do what I do already is. Likewise for DH.).

I'm a drop in the UK ocean, but I doubt I'm the only one planning this way.

Reducing pension tax relief would be egregiously unfair to the private sector, where employer contributions are often 3 percent as mine is.

honestly if they do that I’ll join whichever party is against it.

We’re the same 🤷‍♀️

The way that change would fall entirely on the private sector would be incredibly unfair. I'm sure they won't reduce the public sector final salary scheme to give the same effect...

Darren Jones is the one to watch. In a bad way. He’s been installed by Starmer as his right hand man. In a new made up role.

And that would entirely fit with their ideology to punish the private sector. There's noting unintentional about this

I think there are quite a few posters overlapping with this thread, where thankfully there are plenty of sensible posts, amid the usual bleating about how Somebody Else should pay.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5435779-aibu-income-tax-rise?

IMO (and not being an economist) it does seem to me that the only way to raise a reliably sufficient amount of tax is to increase income tax on everyone, by a tiny percentage. Anything else, people will change their behaviour and also perceive it as targeted and unfair.

I bet they will reduce the amount of pension we can take tax free at 57. Fcking stealing bitter clowns. Who is toxic now Angie?

We shouldn’t be facing this even. It’s only due to the last budget which was so wrong footed it’s caused a bigger hole.

Yeah he's right. There is no mandate for a lurch to the left. Can you imagine how different the GE result would have been if Labour had been honest about their plans? From Starmer's point of view, staying in power is his only priority so he will bend to the will of his batshit MPs whenever they demand it.

It's actually a bit of a no-brainer. I'm in my 50s and thinking about when I can retire.

Without the pension tax relief, to take a month off now I will only have to work 1.5 weeks longer before retiring. And now is nicer to have that time: DD is still at home and we both have good health.

Oh, I agree and I remember the whole "This is it, we won't need to come back for more" schtick (and they screwed over so many small businesses with the employer NI sleight-of-hand).

But we are where we are, I'm just thinking pragmatically that the funds are needed to fill their self-inflicted black hole. And at least a universally-applied 1% on income tax would be "fairer" as well as raising a predictable amount, than the usual "spiteful squeezing of randomly-defined-broad-shouldered scapegoats" approach.

I don't blame you. Replicate that across the country, as is already happening.

Not only that if we’d seen the ‘you deserve it, this is fair’ gaslighting (gaslighting because the facts are higher earners have been raided since 2010 and pay eu socialist levels already) that would’ve resulted in quite different voting.

Yes you can say one thing about Labour, they’re forcing a lot of us higher tax payers to the idea that the value of our leisure per hour is going to be higher than the value of our work. Is that where they want to be?

This is why socialism always, always fails.

Exactly

I think they should own up to the horrendous mistake, take it on the chin and not raise taxes. Just say we messed up, no more tax rises, we’ll do this other thing instead. eg look at spending instead.

I agree on the spite part btw

100%. DH was a low 6 fig earner prior to redundancy.
He is looking at jobs for 45K now ie under the threshold because he says he has had enough of killing himself with work only to pay over 50% of it to the government in various forms. He can now have a better work/life balance.

Agreed. Raising income tax across the board is the only option which is remotely OK - and with no sleight-of-hand taking the same amount off NI for basic rate taxpayers at the same time. We can do the maths, and we're not stupid.

Exactly 💯
And they knew it too. Courting business as they did, only to cut them off at the knees was despicable.
They knew they're only going to get one term so they're going to town with their sixth form politics.

Exactly my perception of her in her pre-GE interviews - know-it-all obnoxious teenager with more than a faint whiff of Lenin.

Yep. We shouldn't have to pay for their mistakes. Nobody from the government has shown any remorse for what they did in the first budget. We just get 'further and faster', despite rising unemployment etc.

Construction output forecasts have been slashed again for the next two years. That's not brexit.

Sky News has revealed a leaked internal Treasury definition of 'working people' as all those earning below £46k and suggested that Labour's scheme could be to reduce the threshold for the higher rate of income tax from £50k to £46k & claim that they haven't increased income tax rates.

Which is hilarious as I'm a working person by their definition yet send my child to an independent school so at the same time have the broadest shoulders???

https://news.sky.com/story/income-tax-and-national-insurance-unlikely-to-rise-as-sky-news-obtains-definition-of-working-people-13459288