Question time man top 5 percent.

[refraction]

Did anyone see the man on QT asking about tax?

Apparently he doesn't even think he is in the top 50 percent of earners.

All doctors earn more apparently and solicitors.

How out of touch with reality?

He didn't come across well and very out of touch.

That guy was a moron! Some people don’t live in the real world.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry that someone thinks that a 4 bedroom house in London is 'normal, nothing special' or that owning one makes them 'not rich' because even if it is mortgaged, very few people earn enough to qualify for a mortgage on a 4 bedroom house in London.

At what salary do you fall in to the top 5%?

Why has this thread descended into a discussion about what makes you rich. Being rich is subjective, but being in the top 5% of UK wage earners isn't , it's factual. £80K/year puts you in the top 5%. End of story.

The bloke was an utter tool. And wrong.

I'm on Jenny's side. She may be better off than most of the country, but "better off" is not the same thing as "rich". To me being "rich" means having a qualitatively different life, not the same life everyone else has, albeit fractionally better.

I think "rich" means having lots of assets rather than income anyway.

I would say that "rich" in the UK starts at a net worth of maybe ten million pounds.

A four bedroom house probably meets most people's definition of a big house. Or if not big, certainly not small.

Although having said that, I live in a not very wealthy area but it's fairly rural and there are loads of really huge houses. An awful lot of people build these enormous houses on a site their granny left them, so I know people who genuinely are not high earners but they live in massive houses.

But I digress. A four bedroom house, two holidays and eating out once a week is not poor, its not even 'just about managing'. It's a very comfortable lifestyle.

And yes, £80 k is a high salary regardless of how rich or poor anyone feels when they earn that amount.

This is an argument about the use of language, I know lots of people here use "rich" just to mean better off than average. That's nothing like the meaning I grew up with.

Tbh I think £80k is a drop in the ocean wealth wise but people don’t considered how much wealth isn’t earned in that way.

So you’re in the top 5% of wage earners, and they aren’t the wealthiest people in this country.

According to BBC reality check:

HMRC publishes tables each year breaking down taxpayers into what percentage of earners they are.

The most recent figures, for 2016-17, show you needed to be earning £75,300 to be in the top 5%.

If you adjust that using average earnings figures from the ONS, it's likely that you need to be earning about £81,000 to be in the top 5% today.

So if he's earning exactly £80,000, it's possible that he's not quite in the top 5% yet - but he's very close.

He's certainly not outside the top 50% - anything over about £25,500 would put him in the top half.

www.gov.uk/government/statistics/percentile-points-from-1-to-99-for-total-income-before-and-after-tax

Well like I posted earlier I was surprised that 80k is top 5 per cent.
A good salary definitely. Well Above average just didn’t realise it was that high.

As others have said, £80,000 p.a. puts you in the top 5% of earners.

The reason that tool man on QT probably doesn't feel 'rich' is because he is comparing himself to wealthy people. Wealth is different to income unless you live off income generated by your wealth.

This is why the ONS statistics don't show the true picture of income in this country, only officially declared earnings by the Inland Revenue.

Now, having said that, £80,000 per year is a lot of money, despite the tax hit and owning a four bed detached house is not the norm - a three bed semi is in my opinion. There do seem to be a lot of people who consider a big detached house the norm though. Someone the other day on another thread mentioned living in 'your average four bed detached house.'

If you earn £80K and live in the SE then you will feel a lot less "rich" than someone on the same salary living further north. It is a very blunt measure.

I have lived my life on the basis that I must pay my way and not be a burden on the state. I pay my taxes, have never used state education or the NHS for any hospital treatment as an adult. I believe I have a responsibility to leave state funds for the benefit of people who need it. To hear the disdain in the voice of Corbyn talking about people in my income bracket is a kick in the face.

just wanted to clarify that ALOT of doctors don't earn 80k+, and if they do, its only once they are consultant level and very experienced - I'm really sick of everyone thinking we are on 150k and on the golf course 3 x a week...we work bloody hard for not as much money as people think!

@OllyBJolly

I challenge you to find me a business owner who was earning 6 figures from the day he or she started their business. Doesn’t exist.

What Question Time bloke said was "I am nowhere in the top 5%, let me tell you. I'm not even in the top 50%." Then asked "do you earn over £80,000?" - "Yes. And I'm not in the top 5%. I'm not... Every doctor in this country earns more than that. Every doctor, every accountant, every solicitor."

That's hilarious. I know fully qualified chartered accountants who earn less than 30k. Even the director of finance where I work doesn't earn 80k.

When the Labour MP stated as a solicitor he was only earning £40k, the woman next to that guy said it was rubbish.

It is a common misconception that professionals like lawyers and doctors earn massive amounts. But they are normally the exception rather than the rule. For every one earning £100k you will have one earning much less.

Sorry but £80k isn’t that much.

No doubt, that man on QT was a moron. I'm assume he gets good money because of the danger involved in being a crash-test dummy.

Sorry but £80k isn’t that much. But it is in the top 5%, meaning that 95% earn less. The thing is, it's all relevant. It may not be high compared to Premier League footballers or Bill Gates, but it is a good salary.

@AlwaysCheddar clearly the majority disagree. Most people earn nowhere near enough to take home 4.5k a month.

Sorry but £80k isn’t that much

Tell that to the 95% of people who earn less.

AlexaShutUp Im with you! I kept wondering (half asleep at that time)! who on earth he was talking about ,then DH said he apparently earns more than 80k? (Thought I must be asleep and dreaming ) Still not sure!

My GP earns £30,000. I earn more than them. I feel rich, but my wage sure as heck ain't £80,000

The guy in QT is supposedly an IT Consultant but he doesn't seem very bright. The. OST annoying thing is the classism. Assuming doctors, and lawyers and the like are the only people in the top 5% of earners.

The rich should be taxed more. I'd happily pay more tax too for increased public services, councils houses, welfare support, and the NHS.