AIBU to believe rich people should contribute much more?

[marcusian]

A bit tongue in cheek, but given that its almost impossible for poorly paid workers including care workers and nurses to strike, and that the government have given people earning over £100K a massive pay rise, what other ways could the most wealthy be made to pay?

My idea: - a new LUXURIES tax (think 50% VAT) on things ordinary people cant buy, like superyachts, airplanes, £10K+ dining tables, a box at wimbledon, £500+ handbags, £100+ football boots!

AIBU - No - they should pay more and heres my ideas how they should do it!
AIBU - Yes - leave wealthy people alone, its not their fault

Apparently you should be paying more tax so others on lower income can have more.

It’s easy to see who are Thatcher’s children on this thread. I guess this mean spirited, selfish, dog eat dog attitude will grow as times get harder. I genuinely don’t recognise the country where I grew up any more. The architects of the welfare state must be turning in their graves.

@Quincythequince

Essentially, yes.

@Eeiliethya

I thought you were happy to pay tax? Now it's going to a shit show?

As a society, we all benefit from good services whether we use them not.
You keep people safe, educated, healthy with good access to leisure services, green spaces and libraries and you can have a society that's flourishing, pleasant and productive. Cutting these services is detrimental.
Who wants more sick and poor people and high crime rates?

@Charles11

I dont think most people give a shit tbh.

Not their problem.

@Topgub

Because everyone would be paid a fair wage instead of a select few

The vast majority are paid a fair wage for what value they add.

A small minority aren't. Sadly a significant proportion of those that aren't are vastly unfairly paid as they get "their wages" (read benefits) for sitting on their lazy asses doing bugger all / bugger all aside from moaning about why the "rich" don't "pay them more" for doing bugger all (loosely veiled as "redistributing wealth"... I'm pretty sure that what common thieves are seeking to do also but that's another point...)

@Topgub
I said I'm happy to pay more tax than lower earners. And yes it is a shit show.

@Eeiliethya

Sure is.

That's the tories for you.

@ExpectMore

Depends how you define value. Those earning the most are usually of the least value.

Essentially yes what?

That there’s only a finite amount of money?

That there is no concept of wealth creation by people who benefit more from the state?

I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.

I think a lot of people on here are angry at the wrong people.

We have a shiny shitshow of a government who continually misappropriate funds.

Save your anger for them, not for the vast majority of taxpayers who do their bit and don’t begrudge doing so but resent being called all sort of names.

@hamsterchump Angela, is that you?

@Quincythequince

Can you give me an example of brand new wealth creation?

Something that created wealth that didn't exist previously?

Given that money is a made up concept anyway?

Once you reach £100k salary, you already start to lose the £12.5k tax free allowance!! It’s gone entirely at £125k. It’s massively unfair. Then pension waivers are capped at £40k a year.

The UK doesn’t incentivise someone to push their earnings higher.

If I look at my annual total tax bill over my annual earnings, I lose over 50% of what I earn.

I’ll be going part-time as soon as tax rates are increased. I can’t be arsed to work harder to lose more.

Corporation tax is where the government should be focussed!!

Utter shit!

Nobody has said that on here.

Not once. Why are you so prone to exaggeration. You just can’t help it.

What people have said is that you can’t keep taking more and more and more from
higher earners.

Of course the vast majority of people care - what planet are you on?

Corporation tax is where the government should be focussed!!

This 👆🏻

It’s not doing them any favours

You can’t take and take and then add on top of all that tax how dare you not care

It’s maddening but it’s a mindset

You are losing the plot Top

You can’t see how various industries (in many areas) through innovation and meeting the increased need for technology and other advancements (digital security, medicine etc) have created wealth?

Are you actually for real?

The vast majority are paid a fair wage for what value they add

Are they? It seems to me the reverse is true. The people who kept our society going in the pandemic, the key workers - remember them? - are those paid the least. There are hundreds of thousands of people in the gig economy, on zero hours contracts - are they paid a fair wage? What value do people who just move money around add? We bailed them out when they fucked up, they were paid mega bucks - were they paid a fair wage for the value they added? Our society is so fucked up.

@Quincythequince

I'm not angry (you seem quite vexed though) and I haven't called anyone a name.

I said I don't think most people give a shit.

Have you actually read some of these comments?!

The common theme is people being robbed of their hard earned money. And that lower earners are lazy thick lay abouts who should get off their arses and earn more. As long as it doesn't take away from the better off

That doesn't shout giving a shit really.

@ChampagneCamping financing social care, and residential care, is a political hot potato. You have, on one hand, my DMIL, who is now entering her third self-funded year in residential nursing care, at a cost of £50k pa thanks to vascular dementia and various chronic age=related conditions that mean her quality/enjoyment of life is not good, who is subsidising residents placed by the LA which is being charged about 60% of the fees she is paying. In effect DMIL is paying half the fee for another lady who did not work most of her adult life. DMIL always did work -- as a nurse and as a medical secretary. That, plus her husband's widow's pension benefit and the proceeds of selling her house which she can no longer occupy safely alone. Her estate certainly won't excite HMRC for inheritance tax but she would be devastated to know that her daughter won't end up with a useful contribution to the house needed for a secure retirement if DMIL lives much longer.

Corporation tax is comparatively high enough in U.K. - when all types put together

So if tax is relatively high already then the answer is productivity maybe

@Quincythequince

No.

They moved existing wealth from one person to another. Thats not creating.

Maybe if you could stop insulting me you could give me ah example?

@Mamai90

Well, most of it is sheer luck. Luck what family you were born into for a start. Don't anyone come on and tell me they are from a poor background and you're now earning megabucks because you're the exception

Plenty of poor people work their arses off but are going nowhere. And many well paid people do very little so no, it's not just hard work. It's mostly luck.

How can so many people, on this forum alone, be the exception? I'm another one for you to add to your exception list: poor family, council estate upbringing, worked my socks of at school and then at Uni, which I paid my own way through, continued to graft through my career, including in second jobs at times when my income was lower than I needed for the lifestyle I wanted. Now earn £100k+ and have a relatively comfortable life, albeit I make sacrifices to do the job I do. Nothing special, no luck, just grafted.

Why can't you accept reality that very few people have high incomes (or wealth) because of luck...?

I’m not vexed at all.

And I meant mad in the British meaning of the word, not the American one (angry)

Most people who earn minimum wage are those who graft the hardest in our society. Swanning around at meetings or working on excel or sending emails is not graft.

I'd like it to be tackled too. My solution is that of everyone who can pulling their weight. Not through the lazy and work shy scheming to "redistribute wealth" of those that have worked hard, sacrificed, made a success of themselves and are already net contributors. Crazy concept eh?