To feel that having nearly half of your salary taken away is just not right?

[WinnieTheWho]

I don't earn enough to pay tax & NI but my DH has a pretty good job & salary for which he works BLOODY hard. I was horrified to work out after last pay day that for EVERY £1 he earned, he only kept 60 pence. This is due to a combination of paying very high income tax and NI, as well losing all of his personal allowance because he might get a bonus at the end of the year! It just seems that if you work hard to get paid well and you are a PAYE taxpayer, the Government & HMRC will just shaft you from all angles. It just makes me wonder why we bother? So... AM I BEING UNREASONABLE?

I don't think that anyone who is well off feels like a 'victim' or that they are tying to persuade low earners that they are somehow better off. I may have missed a post that implied that.

It seems to me that all people who earn well want is to see something in return for the high taxes they pay. What's so wrong with that?

It's ridiculous to bring footballers and film stars into it because the ones that are particularly succesful earn well over the threshold for HRT.

"At John Diamond's funeral, his last words to his wife were read to the congregation by Nigella's brother, the editor of The Sunday Telegraph, Dominic Lawson: "How proud I am of you and what you have become."

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1336420.stm

Exactly theUn

If we all just have a look round the house we will find hundreds of things that we could not have if we were poor. I am on a low income but I am definately not poor. I was once and I live in fear of being so again. It is horrible.

I wouldnt have the Colour Catcher things I use in the wash just incase something runs. £3.00 a box would be far to much, two types of washing powder - one Saver Brand bio would have to do, Shampoo would be a large bottle of own brand for the lot of us - no nice 'for coloured hair' brand, squash, organic milk, no luxury sanitary protection, no chucking a nappy away if the tab came off - get the selotape out (if you have any), I could go on for pages and pages.

None of the above would cause me great hardship, I wouldnt starve or suffer. But its easy to forget/never realise how all those easy choices we make every day just dont exist for thousands of people.

And amazingly not all of those people are feckless layabouts. Many work long hours.

What I am saying is- be grateful, be thankful and ENJOY what you have.

It can all disappear with one test result, one car accident, one job loss, one phone call with bad news.

hardboiledpossum, no adele link, but I remember reading it somewhere. Got the feeling it was tongue-in-cheek, to be honest. She makes shite music, but she seems an honest sort of bird.

outraged we all want to see something for the taxes we pay.

That's nice wasabi, I'm not sure what relevance it has to the conversation.

As far as I'm aware, Nigella Lawson and John Diamond did exchange more than one dialogue. I could be wrong, obviously.

its seems very similar to your comment. was yours before he was diagnosed? otherwise that might explain the remark.

yellow - i thought you were a teacher?

Absolutely Mrs DV, and I firmly believe that we are all equally entitled to much better healthcare and education than we currently get. (just got to make that clear before I make my next point) the difference is that low earners do see a benefit to the taxes they pay in tax credits, free school meals, sure start helpers, help with university tuition fees, easier access to social housing, as well as the same education and healthcare that everyone gets. HRT payers don't get any of those things, and while they are not entitled to any more when it comes to education and healthcare, I can understand why they feel particularly pissed off when they pay high taxes and then end up paying privately for those things because their tax isn't spent wisely by our government.

Er, yes, I am a teacher.

Sorry that I don't have a link to that quote.

Really.

...it's not like you don't benefit from what the government uses the money for...

I mean, really, Outraged.

Really what?

I don't feel pissed off outraged. I feel bloody lucky to be able to afford private healthcare, guilty that others can't and hopeful that the extra tax I pay might make a difference somewhere . The only thing that pisses me off is that most of it probably goes on shite rather than helping those who need it. If I knew it went to the right places I'd happily pay more

As in really, low earners get all that?

Here's an article about Adele's whining about tax. It was in an interview she gave to Q magazine apparently

If they earn low enough they do, that why those things exist isn't it?

That's lovely that you don't feel pissed off catgirl. You may well be a better person than me. I'm not a HRT payer anymore, but I feel pissed off that I pay tax and still have to pay thousands in private healthcare for my dh to get decent care, because what he was getting was truly appalling. I also feel guilty that we had the option of doing that though when there will undoubtably be others in as much need but are stuck at the mercy of the NHS, but I definitely don't feel lucky to be in this position. Maybe I will when it's all over.

Free school meals criteria for those in work:

"Child Tax Credit, provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual income, as assessed by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), that does not exceed £16,190 (TC 602 Final Award Notice - 2011/2012)."

I think £16,200 in work is low paid. But no free school meals.

Sorry your DH is ill Outraged :(

Gosh, there are some very greedy, self entitled people in the world

If you earn a shedload of money, then you should pay a good amount of tax, it's only fair. Most people that have high paid jobs have had privileged upbringings, and more opportunities in life than others, so they should contribute to society, and the less fortunate.

If you find yourself in a situation where you can afford private healthcare, then you're very lucky, and should really stop whining, as there are people out there that can't afford to feed their children at the moment.

Thankyou Catgirl It could be worse!

So anyone that can feed their children without worrying about paying for it is lucky then fluffy? Because no one who has any more than a full time NMW income is ever unlucky, or has any problems or anything real to worry about then?

Aaaaaaarrrrgggghhh - HE don't necessarily have 'shed loads of money' and they DO pay a good amount of tax, but why should they have to pay a higher percentage of their income? Sorry for screaming but oh my goodness, why on earth can't people get their heads around the idea that most people who are HE are not bloody rolling in it with piles of money under their mattresses! You start paying HR tax at just under £35k.

I think there have been lots of answers to this.

How do you define she'd loads of money though?

I define it as someone who can afford car tax annually instead of every six months, who can buy their two children sandals in two consequetive months rather that choose one to live the summer in their school shoes, who can buy bottled water on hot days instead of wait hours of thirst to get home for th tap water.