to think that we should pay more in tax?!

[MenMust]

I am wondering whether tax rates should go up rather than public services being cut. When I first started working tax rates were around 33% and now they are down to 20% and services are being cut. More tax should be raised from large companies and from the rich but I also think that if we want to keep our services including the NHS then we all maybe need to pay more in tax. any views on this?

I agree OP.
But then I'd like a huge hulking great state, I'd like to pay masses of tax and know that no one will ever go hungry or cold here, and that my children and my children's children will be cared for whatever becomes of them.
I also think 'efficiency' is pointless. Take tonnes of money from the rich, create loads and loads of jobs, so that there's lots of 'give' in the system and a job for everyone even if they're not whizz bang super efficient types.
That's what I'd do

Why should I pay more to watch the rich get richer?

If anyone is paying 50% tax then they must be paying tax on benefits or paying back tax owed on previous years.

When the tax rate goes up to 40%, the NI rate drops to 2%.

That is all.

£30k a year is not what I'd call high wages.

If you have 2 kids and have to get to work by any other means than walking and are renting your home in London you could well be better off doing a min wage part-time job and claiming benefits. Seriously. It really does not go far.

For those advocating big companies paying (more) tax, I don't think you can do this without having all the stats. Even if they did pay more, would that money be used wisely? Would it plug the 'gap' in what we may need?

It's a bit like saying people learning over £x K should pay more when in fact it would make diddly squat difference as they are such a small number of people.

IMO waste is the biggest issue.

I agree with Sillyoldfool

It's usually the richer people who most dislike this idea. Funny that.

I'm certainly not rich and don't want to pay any more tax. It's not as though I get a lot back for what I do pay.

Ffs. No one is paying 40% or 50% with NI

It's 40% ONLY on the bit above about 38k, NOT on the whole amount

And people on low wages shouldn't pay more

It's £43,001 before you start paying 40% ONLY on earnings over that

Sillyoldfool - I'd like to see this but I know it wouldn't work. Too many people wouldn't/couldn't do those jobs.

It's 45% over £150,000 not 40%. The Personal Allowance goes down by £1 for every £2 of income above the £100,000 limit. It can go down to zero.

Yes but it's not like you pay nothing until £43K.

That's only income tax however. There is VAT which is payable as you know on many, many things and it's 20%!!!

There is also tax on insurance and capital gains tax and airport tax and IHT - oh and stamp duty which is absolutely bloody criminal- and probably others. (I am not an accountant as you can tell). So those who are earning more, if they are spending more, are paying tax.

Absolutely bloody not.

40% tax. 11% (I may be wrong) in NI on top of that. Energy taxes, VAT, council taxes, taxes on things like alcohol etc.

I believe we pay far, far too much tax already.

Errrmm, no. We're already struggling thanks.

I completely agree that stamp duty is absurd and horrendous. It's one of the first things I would abolish given the choice.

Fuck off. They'll only piss it up the wall like they do alread. Let's keep cutting the waste. The public sector is finally getting some work done. if anything they should cut tax.

Forgot Council tax - Mine is £2k a year!!!!!!! That's nearly £40 per week, £160+ a month. That is a lot. ( Especially as a percentage of what I earn).

Should add already pay income tax, ni, vat, council tax, corporation tax, business rates, employers ni and plenty more. The waste in the public sector is still criminal and needs sorting before extorting any more money out of me

Private salaried individuals already pay a lot of tax in the UK. Income + NI + capital gains etc etc. I personally think we will only get better services when the government forces companies to pay their fair share. For ex: Starbucks' single most important market in Europe is the UK. If for some reason it lost access to the UK market, it would go bankrupt in Europe. However they pay more tax in Luxembourg than the UK & the UK gov lets them get away with it. Why? Ditto Amazon. Ditto ebay. Ditto Boots. Etc etc.

I think tax should be less if anything - the answer to the problem is to cut the MPs second homes eyc that we pay for, instead of charging us more. I also think it wrong that people are penalized in effect for getting more. eg, when i earned 10k I paid very little tax and ni. If I took a job paying 16k I would actually only be 50 quid a week better off because of the tax I'd pay. Lower tax I reckon

Are you coming back OP - it's been over an hour? Or is this just a bit of research?

I don't live in the UK. I pay 51% tax on all of my income and get absolutely no forms of benefit at all.

It's tough going.

I can't afford more tax. I'd need my tax credits to go up to compensate. Which would defeat the point somewhat. I'd rather big Corp was made to pay what they should.

The only things these threads demonstrate is general ignorance about taxation and the undignified levels of envy that people have.