Income tax - top 45% rate scrapped! Bonkers!

[HoppingKangaroo]

The 45% top rate of tax (which currently applies on earnings above £150,000) will be scrapped entirely. How will this help the economy? It will just add to the government debt and it just helps out the very weathly.
Why not have more help for the poorest in the country and not have tax cuts for the very wealthy.

Not sure.
We won’t be, the little that we will benefit from this.

But again, why the rage here when the tax rates for lower under Labour for higher earners, and they had a personal threshold.

Why the anger now?

So you think it's fair that someone has to work for almost half the year to pay their tax bill before they start earning a penny for themselves?

I'm in your camp. Paying neatly half your salary in income tax and NI is not an insignificant contribution. I think it's easier to support tax increases when you're not actually the people paying them.

Granted some posters on here have said they'd rather pay the higher rate, but that's not the case for anyone I know.

I think it's easier to support tax increases when you're not actually the people paying them.

It's also easier not to give a shit about the poor and the vulnerable when you're not poor or vulnerable.

I mean why don’t we all think about all the stuff we just don’t need to buy, and the money we don’t need to spend, and pay it back to the government.

Almost everyone can do that at one point or another.

Or is it just the rich (as people keep saying on here) who should be soaked.

Doesn’t work - never did!

Bunch of Dennis Healey lights on here.

The top 1% of earners also contribute over a third of all income tax revenues.

It's disgusting and, to be blunt, the posters trying to justify it, don't understand it.

It's like the parable of the talents. This tax cut benefits the ones who will bury their talents in the sand for years (the position that was criticised in the parable) and makes a negligible difference to those who would actually put their talents to work.

As an aside, it's fascinating that there's been a growth in 'people' kowtowing to people with more money and defending them as though they are serfs paying tribute to their feudal lords. It's almost unbelievable.

I don't understand it- there should be tax cuts for stretched middle classes because they are the ones who will feel the energy rises the most and cut spending accordingly, so cutting their tax would help them to keep spending and keep the economy going.

I also do not understand the Bank of England raising the interest rate to curb infaltion- usually inflation is fuelled by economic growth and spending so higher interest rates works to slow this down. However, the inflation at the moment is not caused by economic growth but by shortages and rising fuel bills- so how is it going to help? The only thing higher interest rates will stop at the current time is house price rises- yet the government have just scrapped stamp duty. Eh? Madness!

Probably more outrage on here than this but yes it’s be great if those who are expressing it did

Interest rates need to, and will go a lot higher.
Watch out for this and prepare now if you need to. And a lot higher (circa 4%) isn’t that high.

The pound is being battered - absolutely decimated which is catastrophic for the economy!

You think things are bad now?!

It's also easier not to give a shit about the poor and the vulnerable when you're not poor or vulnerable.

That's quite an assumption and also untrue. But I can't face another MN pile-on aimed at anyone who doesn't think the 'rich' are evil bastards so I'll respect your right to hold a different view.

People conveniently ignore this fact.
All the time.

I agree @purfectpuss - they might have shored up some support if they had increased the 40% threshold (which should be at about £80/90k relative to its intended purpose). Fiscal drag impacts middle earners and they will feel the pinch from inflation a great deal.

I mean it's still a tiny % of taxpayers impacted, but it's like handing Labour a big shitty stick.

And yes - the pound is tanking. Quelle surprise.

Sterling now below $1.10. Markets absolutely hate whatever the government's doing right now.

You can't keep on giving handouts to those on benefits and or low wages.

What's the alternative then, @JamesBondOO7 ?

Let them go hungry and end up homeless?

A lot of those low earners are people in essential jobs.

It really is a dreadful budget for everyone below the top 5%, I feel like there must be some trick I am missing - but all the commentators are too.

I guess we are facing an early election.

They hated the boy large enough rate rise yesterday too.

Bloody mess - the lot of it.

The top rate of tax has actually been 47% when you take in the additional NI contributions that highest rate tax payers are obliged to meet.
I will benefit from this but I can assure you I am not 'super rich' I earn well in a professional post which I studied for many years to obtain. And actually, in contrast to what many suppose, the extra income (no longer lost in tax) will mean I can continue to employ my cleaner rather than put her wages into the increased fuel costs.
I'm not super rich, not at all. I live in one of the most expensive parts of the country and am a single parent ( financially as well as practically) of three teenagers. I feel for people who are struggling, and the poverty that many are being plunged into is horrific, but we (us in the middle band) have been relentlessly squeezed - no personal allowance, no child benefit, pension contribution limitations and taxation on pension growth we have no control over, by successive governments.
Something back is actually quite nice

This isn't a gotcha, it's a sympton of vast wealth disparity.

It's a fallacy that only poor people or socialists are against current Tory policy. There are actually a lot of people in the UK who still believe in collective responsibility, and the NHS, etc. And who aren't distracted by a shiny bauble or thirty pieces of silver.

*not large enough

I don't understand it- there should be tax cuts for stretched middle classes because they are the ones who will feel the energy rises the most and cut spending accordingly, so cutting their tax would help them to keep spending and keep the economy going.

A 1% cut in the basic rate of income tax is aimed at this group - the term 'middle class' covers around 60% of the population.

It is actually rather concerning, WTF are they doing?

The calculator I found only shows saving up to salary of 100k, what are the savings of someone on £150k or £200k

Nobody is ignoring it. Some of us are just thinking, so what?

If you are in the top 1%, you're very wealthy. You can afford to pay a significant amount of tax to help those less fortunate than yourself. You might be a selfish twat and not want to, but you can afford to.