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?

Just a thought op... If anything were to happen to your marriage or your dh, surely you would be one of those benefiting from the 40% tax payers?

By your own admission , you have very low earning power and are working hard but not paying any tax because you earn so little.

That's why I'm a little confused that you're posting. I could understand a little more if it were your dh posting, as he's the one paying tax . You seem to have more of an issue about it than he does

yabu well you just are,

Seriously - he takes home £3,700 per month and you feel hard done by. Do you think that people don't work hard being paid minimum wage - they do! He is very lucky to earn that much and you should feel privileged because you really are.

YANBU.

40% tax is too much, I like the idea of a 30% tax rate for all with a generous personal allowance.

40% tax would be ok if everyone had access to great state schools and top class medical care, but the fact is that they don't. If I paid 40% tax I would be extremely pissed off if I then had to pay for private education because my local schools were either over subscribed so I was unlikely to get a place or in special measures and then had to pay for private medical care because otherwise I woudo have to wait over six months for an operation.

Heidi Dole is taxed, Thatcher brought in that little gem.

yabu.

i bet you have a huge house and it's the morgage you are paying that mean you have no money left for luxcuries.

Why do people get so tied up in what he's earning? It just makes you sound jealous and bitter. He may bring home 3,700 but nearly 2,500 is being taken away from him every month. That's a lot.

Am I in time for the Sunday morning pisstake?

Mchappy - not necessarily, you can be paying a large mortgage on a standard sized house depending on where you are.

Ok just to turn the discussion on it's head for a mo;
Why is it acceptable for people who have been receiving tax credits which have now been reduced to get in a tizz and expect the rest of us to have sympathy, but it's unacceptable for people who feel aggrieved at paying vast amounts of tax to have their say?
And for those who say it's my DH paying the tax why am I grumbling - it's because we are a couple & a team. He earns the lions share,I earn much less but I do the majority of the household running and looking after our children. That is how we have chosen to live.

YABU. I work BLOODY hard. 47 hours a week. DP too he sometimes works 55! And we bring home a total of £25k a year between us.

We still get 'shafted'.

tinkerbel, SAHM here. Just to point out that by doing what I do, I enable my dh to do what he does, which results in lots of tax revenue for the government to squander.

I actually do think that some luxuries are a right - life shouldn't be about working until you drop. People have a responsibility to contribute towards health, education, benefits, but it shouldn't be at the expense of losing all the nice little things which make life joyful.

I think the problem here, is that we have some people at the very bottom of society who contribute nothing for generations and deem that to be their right and some people at the very top, who have the ability to hide their wealth and avoid paying their dues. The government seems to assist this, while simultaneously demonising the average benefit claimant as a scrounger.

The people in the middle, regardless of where they fall on the wealth scale, are routinely ripped off, by having their contributions wasted by feckless governments and having the cost of living rising too quickly for wages to keep up. I can see why the OP is pissed off, even though she is in a better position than many. Just because other people have it worse, it doesn't mean she isn't allowed to feel that the government are taking the piss.

Thank you bumbleymummy.
Looks we might be on our own here!

I earn a good salary. My husband does too. We choose to live in a fairly large house and we chose to have 4 kids. We have to run two cars in order to work. We pay a lot of tax! (40%). We can't afford holidays and many luxuries but we consider ourselves fortunate.

What's more fortunate is, because of the system we have in our country, I didn't die when I had a serious and rare cancer diagnosed a few years ago. The instant, expensive and intensive treatment I had was totally free and saved my life. I am happy to be paying taxes and contributing to a society that was not prepared to see my 4DCs (all under 8) without a mum.

Ooooh Winnie, have a

What do people think that taxes are for?

saying 'yeah, well you can afford it' is ridiculous.

You have no idea of people's outgoings or responsibilities or how many extended family they may be supporting.

and karmabeliever

To be honest, I find exorbitant child care and train fares much more galling than paying lots of tax.

There are a few others Winnie!

Why is it acceptable for people who have been receiving tax credits which have now been reduced to get in a tizz and expect the rest of us to have sympathy, but it's unacceptable for people who feel aggrieved at paying vast amounts of tax to have their say?

Because for them it may mean the difference between keeping the roof over their heads or not.

"You have no idea of people's outgoings or responsibilities or how many extended family they may be supporting."

But other people on a lower income may have just the same outgoings, responsibilities and extended family.

Thanks again bumbleymummy - have seen them now

Perfect point stepout

Have you been hibernating or something? Why is this a surprise to you?