What changes do you think you’ll have to make if tax rises come in?

[hollyblueivy]

inflation and cost of living has been going on for so long that a lot of the usual things to do when cutting costs have already been done.

What changes do you think you might have to consider if tax rises come in?

We eat out or get a take away twice per month so that is the first thing that springs to mind for us.

I have been meaning to list things on Vinted for ages so maybe I’ll have to actually start doing that again too.

Think I’d drop the pudding as a cost saving action before resorting to offal 🤣

Impossible to say until we see the numbers.

Why not just go veggie? Just as cheap and less disgusting!

Not for me tbh I actually like offal I’d just prefer steak and considering I haven’t had a holiday in years and sleep on a sofa I feel it’s a shame that little treat may have to be cut down

Offal is not "disgusting". I am not a fan but it's widely eaten all over the world. Including UK. Steak and kidney pie?
I do love a pate.

Puddings usually just a biscuit or warmed up milk or at the moment some of the huge bag of trick or treat candy that will last ages

Exactly what I was thinking.

That’s not what it will be paying for though is it, it’s to pay for the shit status quo we have currently due to shit money management. We won’t be getting anything additional or improved.

It'll be back to Only Fans for me. I might see if I can sell DS2.

No specific changes, we'll just have a bit less money left at the end of every month. I hope that the tax rises will be skewed towards those, like me, who can afford to contribute a bit more, and not towards those who are already struggling to pay for the basic essentials.

😂

If they scrap the child benefit cap and also increase tax for modest earners, I will be furious. So people that worked out how many children they can afford, stopped at 2 and then have to pay for other people's children.

It’s almost as if taxing the people who are already hard up and therefore directly affected by education, pot holes, and the nhs pisses people off!

can you imagine taxing billionaires that never have to use such scummy public services?! The injustice would be front page news!

I like pate, but not S&K pie. I know offal is eaten around the world. My DH once mistakenly ordered tripe in Spain. We love Spanish food, but not that. Sorry!

I'm hard up but I wouldn't mind paying a bit extra tax if we got good services from those taxes.

Well until you know that the tax rises will affect you … i mean if you gain 2p on income tax and lose 2p on national insurance most people and notably those with less won’t be anything

Not sure, DH higher earner but we don’t really eat out any more, our cars are several years old, not been able to afford a holiday this year, cut down on extra curricular for the kids. Spend the same on Christmas/birthday presents for the kids as 10 years ago. We’re lucky we still have enough for decent food , warm house etc which I’m grateful for, always feels rough that except for low earners, families with children to support are considered in the same wealth bracket as someone earning the same without those responsibilities

I’ll wait to see the numbers, but the next thing to cut for us would be our cleaner. Which would be a real shame as she’s fabulous and been with us for about 20 years, but it’s the only luxury we’ve got left.

You are missing the point - people don't resent tax if uts fair and they are still better off than working less. At the current rate many people are better off not working or working less for a lot less stress and state support. It has to pay more to work ! It's a delicate balance and it's not tipped in favour of working hard anymore . Is it fair someone can decide nah I'll be better off financially and in stress if I cut my hours in half or not work at all ? Crazy is what it is. Stop funding immigration at the level we do currently for one - but many other options to cut .

Both DH and I work FT, own our own home and so I've no doubt we will be hammered in the budget as there is no one else to tax except people like us.

I am not prepared to pay anymore tax to this government who, like previous ones, piss it up the wall. I'm not happy to pass over another penny and anything that they take off us I will claw back one way or another.

If I could see that our tax was going to very constructive projects and tangible results from our services, then I would gladly pay it. Alas, it will be squandered and flushed down the toilet.

I'll cut spending in my household and shop in cheaper places and make do with what I have got. I'll look at my finances and see if I can move, change, legally fudge anything to mitigate any rise.

I already find it borderline if it's worth doing overtime with the size of the deductions. If taxes go up and I am taking home even less overtime won't be worthwhile for me.

I only earn around 24k so in theory only a 20% tax payer.

Last month I earned £310 in overtime and took home an extra £170 after tax, NI, student loan and pension (yes I know I will benefit from my pension one day but I am sacrificing time with my family and my ability to help them now)

By the time I factor in the effect on my partner and kids of me being away at work longer hours and tired, more expense on convenience food as all of us knackered, a dirtier home and full washing baskets bringing me down I struggle to think it's worth it. I think we would be better off cutting back on work/spending but having a better quality of life.

I think the big losers are going to be those who provide the “luxuries” that can be cut from household budgets when they batten down the hatches:

• charity direct debits
• beauticians (nails, brows, massages, etc)
• gyms/personal trainers
• coffee shops/takeaways/restaurants
• domestic cleaners
• gardeners

I have huge sympathy it sounds stressful but this idea that either option results in the loss of tax to the state sounds flawed. Are you suggesting if he left his job wouldn't be filled? Politics aside I would 100% say to him to do the job he actually wants to do especially if it's fewer hours and allows him to spend more time with his family. I would also advise you take up the state support to which your son is entitled regardless - what is your reason for not doing so?

To answer the question - probably nothing but I will be watching at 12.30 to see if/ how it affects me. I am an additional rate tax payer who maxes out ISA each year and puts a lot in my pension. I suspect it'll be my savings most affected.

@Kuretake yes I see your point, in most jobs when one person quits then somebody else takes it and the tax take stays the same.

Things often work differently in the high paying finance jobs though; if DH quit this job then the role itself would move abroad, as it’s easier to hire somebody new in many other countries. The job is still here because he is here and qualified and willing to do it.

A lot of high paying jobs in the finance sector actually operate that way - businesses that have historically chosen to be in the UK can choose to be elsewhere instead. Between Brexit, cost of living, taxes, and the generally incompetent government here (not just talking about labour, the tories were also terrible!) the UK is becoming a much less attractive option.

DH’s employer is currently in talks to move the entire office overseas incidentally, so the choice may be taken from us.

And so far we haven’t taken up much state support for our son mostly because the options we can pay for privately are better/more convenient so for example he would get speech therapy once a month on the NHS, at a clinic that’s a half hour drive and would mean missing a morning of school, so instead we pay privately and he gets speech therapy every week just after the school day at a clinic that’s on our route home, it’s less stressful for all of us and more beneficial for him. I know a lot of people who make similar choices as I’m involved in the autism support charity here.

Also part of it is we choose not to take state support when the SEN system is so close to collapse and we can afford to pay so would feel bad about taking state money. But the more our taxes go up the more we start feeling like actually we should be getting something back? So I’m not sure if we will change on that.