"Average wage £29,000"

[liketochange]

I've had an ad on my Facebook for one of those "your baby born on this day" type posters with today's stats, which includes the average wage of £29,000. I'm aware this is the average wage according to stats, but there were loads of comments saying that was wrong, "that's more like household" etc. AIBU to ask does £29k seems that unlikely to be average in your opinion? Do bigger salaries drag it up making it look unrealistic to most?

Although do remember some people don't get a single person's allowance at all these days so pay 20% tax (whichi s really 32% or so tax plus VAT) on the first part and 42% tax/NI or at higher rates 47% tax and NI on the rest.

Xenia the only people with no tax free allowance at all are those earning over
£ 125,000 per year, and they still only pay 20% on the first £37,500 they earn. Everyone pays the same VAT, which 8s why some people argue that the very poorest people in society lose the largest percentage of their

I have never seen higher earners being told that they don't deserve their salary, I have seen lots of implications that lower earners have little or no qualifications and don't work very hard.

I have already said I earn less than the average, I do a job that you have to have a specific degree to do and I work hard.

It is quite arrogant to think that someone earning less than 'you' is because they don't deserve to earn more because they haven't worked as hard (except they may well have)

Of course people get rattled because we have a very unequal and unfair society where some people get paid really well for doing very little and other people are slogging their guts out and having to put with all kinds of crap for a pittance. And those getting paid really well often justify by saying "I work really hard" - what do they think the rest of us do?

the richest 20 per cent have five times as much net income than the poorest 20 per cent. Now try the calculation again, comparing the richest 5% with the poorest 5% - you'll get a very different picture.

once massively high income taxes etc at least 50% for a lot of the better off I wouldn't call that massive. It's not on the whole of their income, only on income above a certain amount, and is muh smaller than the 83% in the 70s.

While I don't agree that UK taxes in general in UK are too high, it is worth noting that if you have a student loan and a master's loan in the UK you can actually have an effective tax rate of 47% (20% + 12% + 9% + 6%) on their salary over 25k, which seems quite a high rate of tax for below the median full time wage to me.

While I don't agree that UK taxes in general in UK are too high, it is worth noting that if you have a student loan and a master's loan in the UK you can actually have an effective tax rate of 47% (20% + 12% + 9% + 6%) on their salary over 25k, which seems quite a high rate of tax for below the median full time wage to me.

And stakeholder pension deductions too which will push marginal "tax" rate over 50%. Far too high for people whose incomes are only just over the national average.

And stakeholder pension deductions too which will push marginal "tax" rate over 50%.

Crikey, yes, I am NHS so put huge sums into my pension so I had totally forgotten the mandatory pension contributions (4% from April 19) which would indeed put the marginal "tax" rate on income over 25k at 51%. I really am very left wing but to me that just seems absurd.

Definitely not realistic for our area

Of course I don’t pay different tax. It’s quite normal to say someone is a 40% tax payer, doesn’t mean on all the salary. These threads are getting ridiculous. Why are people obessesed with asking what others earn just to have the usual slanging matches. It’s getting a bit dull.

Don't join in if you don't like it. There a thousand other threads you might like more.

Half the threads end up talking about the same thinking. Money. Generallly those on low wages feeling sorry for themselves and having a go at those better off. Why is it fair that a shop assistant doesn’t get paid the same as a CEO because they both work hard don’t they?!!! Blah blah blah.

Thing not thinking, iPad got mind of it own.

No one has ever said a shop assistant and a CEO should earn the same. The annoyance comes from the fact that there is always the implication that lower earners don't work hard, have little or no qualifications, no drive, no ambition and are simply doing a job.

It is pointed out that pay level doesn't always reflect how hard or long someone's job is.

The only people that bang on about this is low earners who think they should earn a lot more than they do and begrudge those earning more. It’s not just about working hard it’s about the level of responsibility and accountability a person has. The experience and skill set required. Most people could work in a shop but most people could not be a CEO. I have worked my way up from being an office junior many, many years ago on £3k per year. I earn 2.5 times the national average now. That has been from working hard gaining good qualifications to master’s degree level and from not settling for crappy paid jobs, pushing myself and not giving up. It has not been easy but it has been worth it. So those on low wages who can do more, then do more. If you think you should be paid more than don’t settle for what you are paid. Your career is in your hands

On the points about auto enrolment tax you can opt out by the way just in case people were not aware of that and plenty of people do and even opt out of good NHS and teacher pensions because they need the cash for day to day living just as many of us who are self employed who choose not to pay into a pension do too. I am not saying it is wise not to save for retirement but the pension deduction is not compulsory whereas tax (if you work) is.

I do agree 9% graduate tax should be added if you have a student loan to the upper 42% tasx and 2% NI upper rate taking your 49% to 58% upper rate tax on your upper earnings (and it is correct that those who don't get a single person allowance do indeed still pay tax in stages 20% tax plus 12% NI = 32% or so on their bottom earnings, the 42% tax/NI then 47% tax/ NI. In those bands (with the NI band starting lower than income tax which makes it even more complicated).

We end up with about 5x difference between the better off and lower paid. I know you could pick a billionaire and compare them with the lower paid benefits claimant but on the whole the 1 - 5 ratio figures on the link I published above are about right. Basically half of most of the income of the better off is taken away from them and nothing from the very lowest paid with the lowest paid getting things like child benefit, tax credits etc that our higher earner would not be better.

The annoyance comes from the fact that there is always the implication that lower earners don't work hard, have little or no qualifications, no drive, no ambition and are simply doing a job.

Saying you work hard if you get a higher salary, isn't the same as saying someone who gets a lower salary isn't working hard. I work hard, and get enough to pay 40% tax, someone on less than me isn't working any harder or any easier than I am, just because of their salary, it's all relative.

Exactly. There are lots of hard workers working full time doing 40 or even 60 hours a week at all income levels.

On the other hand the UK has very low productivity and a lot of people rich enough to work pretty short hours these days.

I agree it is all relative. One person doing a job may find it a challenge whereas another person would find it easy because of their skills and experience being higher. It’s not just about volume of work it’s about the challenge a job brings intellectually. Working hard is not the basis for salary, everyone it’s expected to work hard.

I'm quite happy with my job, I wished it paid more (my actual salary is lower than the average for the role), do I wish I was doing a job or role that paid twice as much? No not really.

But like many essential jobs it is paid less than it should be and less than an equivalent skill set in a different career.

I begrudge no one's salary, why would I? My life is perfectly fine on what we earn.