So sick of hearing about tax increases

[Imjustwonderingnow]

I don't want to be taxed more - I pay a shitloaf already while big companies like Google and amazon get away with paying next to nothing. Nothing I can likely do about it but I'm concerned about the fallout for people all over when taxes increase. I'll manage - of course I will and so will many. But something isn't right if the top 0.5% won't get affected but the 9% that pay 60% of taxes will. Why do you think successive governments haven't dealt with tax for big corporations? If you are an economist or know a bit about this I'd love to know your perspective.
And once taxes are raised that's it - it won't come down again... unemployment is at 5 % already - its a catch 22 ... just ugh - needed a moan (sticks head in sand because what else can you do )

"big companies like Google and amazon get away with paying next to nothing."

Not true. They pay more in tax than most average earners make in a lifetime. But because of this, the desire to fritter away vast sums into tax havens or in precious metals is all the more apparent. The government has never been good with managing it's finances, so why would anyone give any money to them? You'd have to be insane to feel good about paying tax these days.

You can't regulate anything into growing and thriving by raising taxes.

I have a feeling that Rachel Reeves won't be delivering the Winter Budget 2025. I'm not a clairvoyant, I just don't think she has the guts to do it, what with the renting scandal (weird how there have been a few of those in the Labour party). She seems to be a very hands-off Chancellor. Torsten Bell is most certainly the mastermind on the latest Budget. Investors have already pulled billions out of the markets because they know things are going to get worse. We wait to see what the damage is I guess.

No they don't though.

Most of the money just accrues, silently, to the billionaires nobody ever goes after.

https://equalitytrust.org.uk/evidence-base/billionaire-britain-2025/

We should tax wealth, not work. People earning 200k have more in common with us than with billionaires. It's a mistake to fight amongst ourselves.

To be a net contributor you need to be paying just under 20k in tax and NI each year. This means you need to earn over 60k every year of your working life.

Hence why loads of households fall into the net recipients particularly pensioners.

Can you clarify what salary range you consider a high earner? Appreciate this is subjective for everyone but let's get it out there?

UK is one of the few countries in the world which taxes a family property worth under £1million pounds on the death of a householder. And believe me when I say it is not a mansion!

You can't compare one element of tax to other countries.

Great. The NHS is failing. I’d much rather an insurance based system like the Netherlands or elsewhere on the continent.

Fwiw I agree with the poster saying people on 200k has more in common with us than millionaires and billionaires. I'm sure I'll be shot now 😂

I’d much rather an insurance based system like the Netherlands or elsewhere on the continent.

So would I but we would have to pay more for that

Would we? Or should the NHS and other public money not be thrown away through inefficiencies and mismanagement?

@EweCee yes, we do not pay enough tax to support our NHS model & state pension particularly with an ageing population.

Here is what chat gpt said:

According to recent date from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), about 52.6% of individuals in the UK were living in households which received more in benefits (cash + in-kind) than they paid in taxes in the financial year ending 2023. If we translate this to households, several sources suggest that a bit over 50% of households are "net recipients".

So I maintain that it is crucial not to cause the 1% to f off abroad. Or even any net contributor.

If we taxed assets instead of salaries it wouldn't matter if they fucked off abroad. You can't take the water company with you.

The NHS worship is getting tiresome now. We spend more on the NHS than we do on national defence and yet waiting lists are longer than ever and patient satisfaction is pretty dire.

Looking at where spending on the NHS is going, I saw this earlier:
https://beta.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate/jobadvert/C9220-25-0369

Forgive my ignorance, but what on earth happened to the good old fashioned smoke detector?

They can't take the pipework with them, but they can wind down operations, lay off loads of people and spool up a fresh new operation in another country. One less portion of GDP, unemployment increases, therefore more people dependent on the state, and thus squeezing the taxpayer harder. There may be some smug socialists celebrating the end of more shareholders, but there will be pain felt elsewhere.

You try working from Monday to Thursday lunchtime for the government. People who earn between 100 & 125k lose 69.5% of it in tax in Scotland.

Wheres the incentive to do better? So I can support someone who chooses not to work, or work 16 hours a week and claim benefits.

No wonder high earners are complaining. Our benefits system is far too generous.

@tapaw that figure includes healthcare & education. It's not unusual to have a high proportion of net recipients & as 80% plus of pensions are net recipients obviously an ageing population exacerbates this.

There's actually a huge problem where they aren't training or employing enough engineers in this country, because our major infra is owned by foreign investors (who do not invest only extract). We literally are losing the skills to be able to repair our infrastructure, never mind build new things.

This is already happening. It's nothing to do with being a smug socialist. I'm not a socialist. I'm an engineer. You need to wake up to the state we are actually in.

Except they aren’t

News

NHS waiting list hits two-year low as staff work to ‘turn the tide’

12 June 2025
Elective careUrgent and emergency care
The NHS waiting list has fallen to its lowest level in two years, the first April drop since 2008*, as health chiefs hailed staff for continuing to tackle demand and drive progress for patients.

That was in response to thiis post!

News

NHS waiting list hits two-year low as staff work to ‘turn the tide’

12 June 2025
Elective careUrgent and emergency care
The NHS waiting list has fallen to its lowest level in two years, the first April drop since 2008*, as health chiefs hailed staff for continuing to tackle demand and drive progress for patients.

That ignores the fact that many who pay more tax than they receive in benefits still don’t pay anywhere near enough to cover the cost of the services they use.

The term net contributor should really refer to a societal net contributor ie one who pays more than their cost to society.

Someone paying 10k tax and not claiming any benefits isn’t even close to being a genuine net contributor.

What do you class as a ‘high earner’?

It's usually defined as someone earning between 30 to 50% more than the person who wants to see higher taxation on "high earners " - so basically not them.

And that's exactly why productivity suffers in the UK - what's the point of working harder or getting promotions or growing your own business when the tax rate just gets higher and higher.

And that's why many people choose to work say four days a week or retire early or for the really wealthy leave the country.

St Nigel said he'd have to raise taxes.

We have to pay towards stuff and nobody can magic away the last 15 years of overspend. Not even if he wears yellow trousers.