To really resent the amount of tax we pay.

[KettleBelles]

I hate it, we pay a vast amount of tax to live in a country where we can't see a GP for a fortnight, feel criminalised every time we go to an airport, pay even more tax again to drive a car on inadequate and over crowded roads. Get squashed on crowded transport which is filthy and unreliable, where criminals seem to always be on the beneficial side of human rights.

I can't be the only one who feels like this?

We are in the higher tax bracket. 40. % gone of your wage ??
No child benefit etc either. We are not poor ( and I have been poor and scrabbling about for money ) but that's the way it is so have to accept it.

YABU OP, I am thankful for the taxes I pay as it means I have employment.

I am thankful my taxes go some way [albeit a very small way] to helping the sick, the disabled, the poor, the struggling, etc.

IK it's not 40% of your wage though. It's 40% of the part of your wage that is over the threshold.

We are in the higher tax bracket. 40. % gone of your wage

Nope. 40% of what you earn above £41,865. Marginal tax rates. Why are these so difficult for people to understand??

I am an accountant.
If you are only today stressing out about your tax bill WTF have you been doing for the last ten months since the tax year ended?
Only idiots have not been stashing the money away ready to pay on the last day.

If you do not like the UK tax rate, speaking as an immigrant, you can eff off to somewhere else.

The headline tax rate in the USA is lower.
BUT
Once you have paid federal taxes, state taxes, Town taxes, land taxes, health insurance, child care no maternity leave remember and the rest,
net income on a given income is remarkably similar.

And if you think UK airports are bad you have clearly NEVER been to the USA. Getting through security at Newark - fingerprints and photos and taking off your socks - is a blerdy nightmare. Give me Gatwick any day.

So many selfish people in the world. When I worked full time I didn't use childcare or education services (no kids), NHS (never got sick). Didn't get any benefits (full time work). The only things I used that 'my' taxes went on were the park, the Council-run swimming pool and occasionally the library. Oh, and the rubbish collection and benefit of clean streets. And Council-run events like fireworks displays. Oh, and the time I needed to call the police when I was mugged.

It felt like a pretty good deal to me.

And I wasn't so short-sighted that I couldn't see the need for state pensions, social security safety net, schools, hospitals, fire stations, social services...

Yabu ......You do not pay 'a vast amount of tax' even for top rate tax payers the burden of tax is lower than many countries....
As a democracy we have chosen to vote in a series of governments that have actively encouraged capital flow out of the country and turned (a very) blind eye to offshoring activites by rich individuals and corporations. The net effect is that there are a great many businesses who benefit from UK PLC’s infrastructure (roads, trains, internet), educated workforce, free healthcare etc who contribute not a penny in taxation towards maintaining this…. That’s the bloody scandal imho…

I reckon, like statistically and stuff, the majority of our deranged nutters are manufactured in the UK rather than imported.

We both pay higher rate tax.

I'm self emoyed so I actually have to hand over my tax to HMRC every month, plus my quarterly VAT payments and corporation tax too.

We obviously don't get tax credits and have to repay Child Benefit.

I'm very happy to pay tax. We live in a safe country, with a trustworthy police service and an NHS which while not perfect is better than anything else I've experienced living elsewhere. My children have an excellent free education and we are lucky to have some really wonderful facilities (sporting etc) run by our local Council.

We have free and fair elections and you don't get arrested for challenging the governments opinion.

I think all that's not bad for my money and I'm really very happy to think that some of my contribution pays for single parents, those with disabilities or the elderly.

There are lots of other places to luce in the world OP. I'm happy with the price I pay to be here.

YABU and slightly bonkers too.

Airport security for one has nothing to do with taxes. Neither has immigration (or do you mean crazed holidaymakers coming "through our borders"? - I agree tourists can be a bit annoying.)

In fact I think taxes should be higher.

Goodness no I don't resent it. I don't see it as my money- maybe I would if I were self employed.

I think we get a fantastic deal in this country. I'm about to have a baby and despite being a higher rate tax payer it could take me many years of tax to even out what I and the baby might cost the tax payer in this process, and that's without all the other services I get- police, courts, roads, libraries, subsidised prescriptions etc

Most people never put in anything like as much as they take out of the tax system. If you're a standard rate tax payer you're not even close. Think of all the other poor taxpayers funding your existence before you get too resentful

HOW TAX BANDS WORK IN THE UK

Imaginary salary of £100,000

zero tax band = £10,000 so no tax on that
20% tax on everything over that = £18,000
another 20% tax on everything over £41866 = £11627

Tax bill on £100k = £29627 = under 30%

I don't think I pay too much tax but I do think that quite a lot of it could be spent much better.

I'd like to see companies paying a bit more tax - in fact just paying a living wage would help, and then people would not need to claim as many benefits. It annoys me that the taxpayer subsidises tight-fisted greedy employers.

Thankfully, None of the people I know who earn enough to pay higher rate taxes, actually complain about it. Surely if you pay a lot of tax, it's because you're on a bloody good wage. That's a nice thing, right? Cup half empty and all that.
And I'm also grateful that I've never talked about tax at a dinner party,. How frightfully dull.

I think the OP's post has been misunderstood. Isn't she saying she wants value for money? That's not unreasonable. She's right in that transport, infrastructure and NHS are in a poor state considering the amount spent on them.

Although it's reassuring to hear so many people on this thread declare that they'd happily pay more tax. But I would question what has stopped them from making a voluntary contribution to HMRC if they are so eager to pay more; I'm sure the government would gratefully accept it. However I guess that might mean putting their money where their mouth is...

Having read the thread, I think I can propose a compromise. Those of you boasting you can always get a GP appointment the same day, continue to pay your taxes. Those of us who haven't seen a GP for a couple of decades, because they only offer appointments that fall after we'll have died or recovered without help from whatever is bothering us, no longer have to pay tax.

Or we all pay more tax so everything's hunkydory?

@vortexshedding

You mean in 'Fantasy Utopia Land'?

smells BS

Oh, and I can easily get a same day appointment with the GP. Not sure why others can't!?

There isn't actually a way to pay more tax to HMRC, short of earning more money. I'm sure that a lot of PP on this thread who have said they'd be happy to pay more tax are charity contributors which is another way of supporting each other and, for me, is how I try to give back a little bit.

We are Brits living in the US. Yes, taxes are much lower, but we don't really get much in return. Even if you have really good health insurance paid for by your employer (we do, and we feel extremely lucky because many don't) there are always deductibles and co-pays that you have to pay out of your own pocket. Earlier this week I had to pay for an epipen for my 2 year old!

Public schools vary wildly in quality. So do the roads; the photo is the sidewalk outside my house, and I live in the 29th biggest city in the country, not some rural backwater. You get "treated like a criminal" in airports here too.

If you feel disenfranchised in the UK, remember that if you moved elsewhere you are not even entitled to vote despite paying taxes!

I like living here, but I'm glad that we'll ultimately return to the UK where a toddler's access to life-saving medication isn't dependent on their parents ability to stump up $30 in the pharmacy.

Of course we get annoyed thinking our tax covers criminals in jail but it also covers the nhs which I'm happy to pay as I sure as hell couldn't afford private health care! I can't complain about the amount of tax I pay as its a small amount

People use something like 90% of their lifetime NHS care in the last 4 years of their life. When they are dying. They are likely to be elderly, no private insurance and little income. Make your choice to pay tax or not now, at this point in your life and you're likely to seriously regret it. That's what a welfare system is for, to help you when you are in need. A lost job, a bad business decision, a serious accident- you never know when you will be in need.

That's not even considering the fact you are benefitting from ie the police service indirectly by living in a safer society.