To think that the Scottish government have made the right decision to increase tax for higher earners

[ChristmasCaroline]

Ok, no one wants to pay extra tax. But it’s needed to fund the NHS.

at least it’s higher earners being hit.

Unfortunately, to raise any significant amount of tax, you have to tax middle earners. There are simply too few genuinely "high" earners to bring in any useful amount of money. It's just a numbers game. An extra percent or two on a tiny number of people brings in tiny amounts of tax. An extra percent or two on a few million people brings in huge amounts of tax. You have to look at the practicalities of it, not the politics.

A household bringing in £43k isn't really a high income household.

With 42p income tax and 13p NI (55p government deductions), I continue to be incentivised to put my earnings over the threshold into my pension and my employer's tax efficient share save scheme.

As pleased as I am to save £100 per year on the cost of my prescription prepayment certificate though, I don't consider the cost of the extra tax to outweigh that saving.

People can piss off down south if they don't like it, plenty of people will happily take those jobs anyway. Hardly going to be a brain drain it's what the always threaten, fact is people are generally happy where they are and aren't going to uproot for paying an extra 1p in tax unless their sole motivation in life is money

I’m in high earner bracket, and ok with the extra 1p. I can’t imagine people are going to go to the hassle and expense of moving over an extra penny in the pound. Seems a bit extreme. Public services really need the money.

YABU because as numerous posters have pointed out, the threshold that this kicks in at is not just the wealthy. DH is affected by this on a salary of 50k but that's our entire household income as I can't work any more due to caring responsibilities.

Why do you think it is reasonable that are we losing 54% of the his earnings over 43k (and 21% on the earning over 25k) when we are also being hammered by all the other cost of living issues - but those in rest of UK would only pay 20% on the lot? It's £1800 a year difference!

We live very modestly and it massively pisses me off that the Scottish government keep hitting middle earners but making it sounds good by calling it "upper rate" at the level of an experienced nurse or classroom teacher like they are super wealthy. That is the real issue.

It's become an absolute race to the bottom under this SNP government. Continually pitching salaries of 43.5k and above as 'higher' and 'upper rate' as if anyone on that level of income is living the high life.

YABVU.

It's not high earners. It's creating a huge disparity with England.

If I was confident that the SNP would use the money wisely and spend it well, it wouldn't be such an issue but based on the past decade I consider that to be very unlikely.

I am nearly at that level and DH is over it - I don't begrudge paying it as a family. I don't know a single person who has moved because of tax rates. If you have kids settled in school, family nearby, local friends etc, why would you move for something that you could well afford? Someone upthread said they'd be £1800 a year better off in England - it'll cost significantly more than that to move down south. I wouldn't disrupt my children for that either - oh, and while I don't know anyone who has moved south for tax reasons, I do know a family who moved here for free tuition at university for their 3 children.

People on £43k are not rich! I really feel for the people of Scotland who this will affect. They’d be better off reducing benefits and getting people in to work and contributing their own taxes. There was a poster on here the other day who was shocked to find out that she would be taking home nearly £3k in benefits and work which is more than you’d take home on £43k!

How many people do we think would actually leave Scotland due to this tax rise. It affects me by a couple of hundred £££ a year, so not really enough to make me even consider the cost of leaving Scotland.

Exactly.

Scotland is generally a more progressive country than the RoUK, if this encourages those who only care about themselves/money to move south then that's just an added bonus.

Someone up thread mentioned it will cost them an extra 1800 a year as a family. Well, get moving south and start saving it. After 15 years you'll have enough to cover the tuition fees for one child or after 30 years you might have enough to cover your social care in old age (both of which you'll get for free in Scotland).

This in spades

Keep living in England with an attitude like that you'll be happy with your Tory government.

In SNP scotland success and doing well for yourself is shameful and must be punished. We must all be poor and await our handout from Dear Leader Chief mammy Saint Nicola who will tell us the reason we need handouts and cant do better is because of westminster and the big bad toaaarrrrries.
But come the revolution we will all receive our state issued unicorns and everything will be free.

The have continually pushed the idea that if you a high rate tax payer then you are loaded and robing the poor to do so and it isnt something for ordinary hard working people.

As a fellow Scottish higher-rate taxpayer, I completely agree with you.

Scotland is generally a more progressive country than the RoUK

Is it, though? The SNP try to brand it as such but when there's disruptions from yet another Orange march or the horrible atmosphere from an Old Firm match, it doesn't feel particularly progressive.

Also as many PPs have said, their definition of high earner just.... isn't. The councils play similar games with the council tax bandings.

This is hitting middle earners, not higher earners. I don't consider £43,662 a high income, particularly if only one parent is earning. Coupled with higher food and energy prices, and interest rate rises, a lot of relatively average families are going to be struggling with yet more tax on top of things.

You're not being unreasonable, but taxes will be higher, probably for evermore, in Scotland, and not just for the NHS, but the more generous public services such as free student tuition, more generous long term care funding, dental and eye costs. John Sweeney has doubled the cost to the taxpayer of cold weather payments and is introducing a more generous Scottish Child Payment.
My understanding is that the UK treasury only provides funds to Scotland that equates to what would be allocated if the budget hadn't been devolved - so any 'extras' need to paid for by local taxation.
The risk is one of sucking money out of an economy that has a poor outlook in the years ahead, and sending a message that even higher taxation is on the way after this round -. Will businesses and mobile high earners be attracted to Scotland? Don't ask me!

If this is an actual solution to the NHS funding problem then why aren't the UK government doing the same?

What has the extra 1% on the 'higher tax bracket', which don't forget, kicks in at a lower amount than South of the border (£43663 vs £50270) been spent on since it was implemented a few years ago?

Why doesn't Scotland review things such as free prescriptions to help address NHS funding?

I'm a higher rate tax payer. I don't object in theory to the plans for the extra tax raised, I just want to know exactly how it will be used to improve things for the NHS, and how the Scottish Government plan to raise the money should more be needed which is very likely as the NHS is already in dire straights with funding.
I don't like that I take home less than someone doing a comparable job south of the border, but the difference is not enough to consider leaving...yet.

How many more extra 1%'s are needed though?

Blair increased NIC twice "to save the NHS". Recently, we've had more NIC rises for the NHS and social care. Now Scotland has increased income tax. Where does it end?

There's a limit to how many more tax rises are imposed "to save the NHS". In reality, it's a leaky bucket.

I'm fine with higher taxes IF and only IF, combined with reform and efficiency to finally tackle the waste and inefficiency within the NHS.

I am a higher earner in Scotland. Chatted to various people yesterday and none of my colleagues and friends here want to live in a deeply unequal, divided society. If a bit more of our earnings gets redistributed to fund better services, free university education, less poverty etc then that’s fine. If we can move to Scandinavian style ‘high tax, low inequality, high wellbeing’ then that’d be ideal for me personally.
I’ve not had problems recruiting either so personally I’d be surprised if it’s going to make many people sell up and move south.

In itself it's not a huge rise, I'm marginally over the limit so will pay a very small amount extra per year, DH a bit more but might try to avoid by putting more in his pension ( and yes most folk with the ability to avoid paying extra will try and do so).

I don't object in principle with higher earners paying more, but it feels incessant and penalises the middle class more than the wealthy.

I'm a higher rate tax payer and can see why the taxes have to go up, however... pretty much everything that's been said before: it will hit middle earners and I don't want it to go towards feeding the NHS bottomless pit. Free prescriptions should go first.

Also how do we know when the NHS has been saved ?

@WalkingThroughTreacle I agree with you

I'm also higher rate tax payer in Scotland, and happy to pay a bit more tax to fund policies that help to promote a more equitable society eg free university education, free personal care for elderly etc