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AIBU?
DH and I going part time to deliberately reduce wages
Bucketheadbucketbum · 18/03/2023 13:35
Just working out the free childcare hours and actually DH and I will be muxh better off if we both dropped to 3- 4 day week to deliberately reduce our incomes. Would obviously be nice way to live too! Anyone else doing same? Seems mental but we've looked at it 100 times over and it's true!
Am I being unreasonable?
AIBUYou have one vote. All votes are anonymous.
ThinkingMeat · 21/03/2023 21:31
Blossomtoes · 21/03/2023 21:12
Thing is it won’t win votes @ThinkingMeat. And that’s all most politicians are interested in.
It only won't win votes if it's not explained properly that changing this would make everyone better off. Unless people really do all want to keep getting poorer (fairness issue aside)?
Perhaps better politicians are needed who can communicate not just in basic slogans to try to divide people and are capable of explaining evidence.
I can see why Macron has had trouble changing pensions in France, necessary but of course unpopular. But this would actually benefit everyone in the UK. It should not be unpopular if any politician is capable to communicate with the public and explain it. Is the answer that not one of them in any party is capable to convince the public to vote for something even when it would benefit them all? If so, an even bigger downwards spiral is coming.
Ziegfeld · 21/03/2023 23:21
Blossomtoes · 21/03/2023 20:53
All right. Everyone regardless of age has a personal allowance unless they earn enough for it to be taken away. 🙄
Ziegfeld · 21/03/2023 20:50
No they don’t. When you hit a certain level of income they take your personal allowance away. And that’s done on an individual basis too, so a couple with the same income as a single person would get two personal allowances while the single person got nothing.
Blossomtoes · 21/03/2023 16:52
Children do not get an allowance in the UK system though.
They do. Everyone, regardless of age, has a personal allowance. It’s why some wealthy people stash money away in their kids’ named.
What is “enough to be taken away” exactly? That’s the whole point - a couple with no kids and a combined gross income exactly the same as a single person with three kids will get a £25,000 tax free allowance that the single person will not get. How is that fair? Why does the single person earn “enough” to be penalised but the couple does not?
usernamealreadytaken · 22/03/2023 08:22
Dibblydoodahdah · 21/03/2023 13:06
@usernamealreadytaken mine also only got 15 hours. The 30 hours was introduced whilst they were at nursery but the nursery didn’t accept them and still doesn’t. However, I wouldn’t begrudge anyone getting reduced nursery fees, no matter how much they earn. It’s an absolute disgrace that childcare costs in the UK are the highest in the developed world. €70-150 PER MONTH in Germany. We need all the highly skilled people we can get in this country. We need reasonably priced childcare to be competitive with other countries.
Childcare varies by region in Germany, and there are far more rules around parents having to work. I have friends in Germany who tell me that being a mother in Germany is actually difficult as the system is still very male-oriented - the kind of system we would be protesting on the streets about. As an ex-pat it's even harder (apparently worse for immigrants, which I'm sure isn't an issue here), and my friend directed me to thiswww.dw.com/en/child-care-in-germany-leaves-mothers-with-few-options-to-work/a-62780575
mishmased · 22/03/2023 13:10
amp.dw.com/en/child-care-in-germany-leaves-mothers-with-few-options-to-work/a-62780575.
Reposting as the above link didn't work for me.
OldieButBaddie · 22/03/2023 16:03
Lostinalibrary · 18/03/2023 14:43
What they need to fix - you can earn £99.9k and take home MORE than someone on £135k. This is a known and well publicised effective tax rate of over 100%. The chancellor himself as been told it is directly impacting on the economy. Why would you work for all that extra to be be worse off? Issue is - it’s these people who pay the most tax. Professionals such as Drs, head teachers, engineers: they are the ones paying the tax to prop everything up. It’s not the millionaires and billionaires who avoid it.
Effectively taxing people at over 100% is not only stupid - it lowers the tax take and results in lower productivity. As they chancellor has been told repeatedly. It’s short sighted that people can’t see this monumental issue. It’s why economics should be compulsory at school.
I thought the effective rate while you lose your nil rate band was 60%... what's the over 100%? Is that factoring in something else you lose?
Blossomtoes · 22/03/2023 22:50
Xenia · 22/03/2023 19:43
We fought so hard as omen to achieve separate taxation of husband and wife and I am very glad it largely remains rather than the old days of the man getting a big married man's allowance. I don't want to go back to those days.
Absolutely @Xenia.
ThinkingMeat · 23/03/2023 09:52
Xenia · 22/03/2023 19:43
We fought so hard as omen to achieve separate taxation of husband and wife and I am very glad it largely remains rather than the old days of the man getting a big married man's allowance. I don't want to go back to those days.
Nobody is suggesting that though. Couples would still have separate taxation. This was all discussed in earlier posts.
jenjenlinks · 23/03/2023 21:30
Xenia · 22/03/2023 19:43
We fought so hard as omen to achieve separate taxation of husband and wife and I am very glad it largely remains rather than the old days of the man getting a big married man's allowance. I don't want to go back to those days.
You can't be taxed together if you choose? Seems unfair.
ThinkingMeat · 24/03/2023 00:02
You can't be taxed together if you choose? Seems unfair.
In the examples I gave, it's very possible and happens in many countries to have separate tax allowances for a couple but they can opt-in to transfer between them if they wish, and revoke at any time. Very simple. Then the single person would get the same overall allowance per household so fair to all households with different setups, same tax on same income, but also option to keep finances separate if wished. Not sure why some people have found it so hard to understand when explained several times and examples given from various countries that do this already!
WellPaidJobs · 12/04/2023 14:00
Bucketheadbucketbum · 18/03/2023 14:14
Yes exactly this situation. Do less hours = get paid less but no impact on seniority or progression etx.
darjeelingrose · 18/03/2023 13:51
Not necessarily, my DH and I have jobs where it is easy to reduce then increase hours, and you just get paid less, the OP may well have similar.
AllIwantforChristmas22 · 18/03/2023 13:46
A bit short sighted, childcare is not forever. Also I doubt the numbers add up tbh.
@Bucketheadbucketbum @Bucketheadbucketbum very off topic and late on the thread but are you happy to share what are the jobs that you do (and what is the pay range assuming full time hours)?
Also anyone else who reads this and has such job, I’m interested. I just started another thread asking this question but people seem to be missing the part about being able to change hours without impacting prospects / seniority.
If not happy to share on the forum as outing etc are you happy to PM?
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