Petition for NHS staff no tax?

[alloutoffucks]

A friend has sent me a link to a petition asking me to sign it asking that all NHS staff should not pay tax during this crisis. I totally support the staff and know they are doing a difficult job, but I don't support this. I would be fine with staff getting a bonus. But paying no tax would benefit the most well paid most. So a well paid top manager or consultant would benefit far more than a HCP or cleaner. So I haven't signed the petition. So what do you think?

YABU - You should sign the petition
YANBU - You should not sign the petition

Being treated with respect by government and the general public plus being given decent equipment to carry out our work would mean much more.

Sod a petition, people need to put their hands in their pockets to help fund proper protective equipment for them now.

www.gofundme.com/f/help-them-help-us

A fundraiser, started by NHS workers, backed by the British Medical Association, and intended to support HCP through this crisis safely.. and in a week it's barely cracked 100k. I'm ashamed of how many people are eager to clap, but slow to donate. Almost all of us could spare a fiver, at least. These people are risking their lives for us, and we can't even be arsed to buy them proper masks?

We leave that to politicians, and they might get some approved in five years time. We need to fund this now. Yesterday, ideally.

I don’t think it will happen.

However, there is an issue related to tax/ pensions that is going to cause issues and needs to be considered- and it’s one that has already caused issues for the NHS. Some may be aware that one of the reasons many consultants have been limiting hours (I.e. reducing sessions worked or refusing to take on over-time/extra sessions to cover waiting list initiatives)is due to many being landed with a massive tax bill related to their pension contributions- in some cases more than they’ve earned- if earning over a certain threshold.

Staff having to take on extra hours due to the extra workload and providing cover for colleagues who are sick are at risk of being pushed through tax brackets/pension tax brackets- they may end up being significantly financially penalised for taking on extra hours required to get through the crisis. I imagine workers in other sectors will also be affected by similar issues.

As an NHS worker I recognise my tax does more than pay for said NHS. After the amount we are having to spend the government is going to have to tax us all to Hugh heaven to recoup it all.

I'd rather people just stay the hell inside!!!

@jacks11 I’m pretty sure the pension cap was lifted in the budget precisely for this reason. Rightly so.

I’m married to a front line medic who is currently working in intensive care doing the riskiest stuff imaginable.

His annual leave is cancelled, we will lose holidays we have booked and paid for because his new rota extends into the summer. He will be working much longer hours than he’s paid for. He’s working most weekends, Easter, etc.

I’d like to know he will be paid, will get annual leave back and I’d like to know what we do if we lose the money we’ve spent on summer holidays because his employer has cancelled all annual leave.

I’m also NHS. I don’t think all NHS staff are impacted to the same degree. Nobody is stopping me taking annual leave, for example. I’m not suddenly working all night or all weekend. I don’t see why I deserve special treatment or extra pay, but I think he does, and anyone else in similar circumstances.

bonkers idea - I think there's enough additional administration with additional benefit allocation, govt loans, grants to self employed, 80% salary grants....
not to worry about a tax holiday who are probably earning more than they usually do from overtime.
plus as PP has pointed out, what about other key/emergency workers?

We should move away from the idea that the only people putting their lives on the line are NHS staff. There are many people out there working who are risking the health of themselves and their family who are equally deserving of our praise. No group of people is superior to another.

They’re public servants, they don’t actually pay tax anyway. Not really. This is the journey their money makes:

1. Businesses that generate actual wealth.
2. Money siphoned off from salaries to the tax man.
3. Money spent processing tax etc.
4. Money given to NHS.
5. Money siphoned off (at cost, payroll doesn’t do itself!) and then sent BACK to the tax man where steps 3-5 are repeated loosing more and more money on unproductive administrative costs.

It’s time we stopped this idiotic (and wasteful) farce. There is absolutely no reason for public servants to pay tax. Both the HMRC and the NHS if their salaries were adjusted fo net levels and this performance was ended. Alternatively, they could just be exempted from tax on their current salaries. The NHS pay is terrible, a lot of newly qualified doctors I know have left the country for this reason. They deserve a pay rise so why not kill two birds with one stone?

Give NHS frontline staff a bonus. Tax breaks would be meaningless as it benefits those on higher salaries.