To reduce hours when labour win election

[Parttimeplay]

I fall into the “60%” tax bracket. With the upcoming elections and knowing the government always hammer the middle ground….woudlnt it make more sense for me to cut my hours for a more relaxed life, eligibility for childcare, reduced tax?

I get your point about you stagnating but that's down to your employer, industry and current Tory government's policies, yes Covid could have been handled better but I'll cut them slack as it was worldwide but Brexit is their own goal.

Rather than tinkering with your hours, I would be evaluating your position entirely, considering moving to where you can afford a decent house you love as I'm guessing you are in London. Or look at career opportunities etc.

Do what you like, OP. Nobody else really cares.

There will be others who will be capable of doing your job and replacing any tax lost to the state. And it's unlikely that you'll be able to claim that much from the state either, so the primary impact will be on you and your family. If you want to make your family worse off financially in favour of having more free time, that's entirely your prerogative.

Just don't kid yourself that this is somehow your way of "punishing" the country if the electorate elects a Labour government. You're really not that important.

Put all the extra money into your pension. This is what people are doing in Scotland with the SNPs even higher taxes.

Agree 100%

Would it not make more sense for the next Government to tax assets rather than earned income?

This is a good point, and also an important example of how higher taxes don’t always lead to better public services. Labour’s record in wales is also conerning.

Good morning brand new account, created upon the announcement of a general election to blame the incoming Labour government for current taxation applied to you by a 14 year tory government. I enjoyed reading your completely organic posts made at a time when UK professionals earning £100k plus are all generally online.

You work no harder than most of us earning a tenth of what you do. Financial recompense does not reflect efforts put in.

Those who receive welfare from the state are largely incapable of work, but still have to exist and live somehow (unless you suggest euthanasia, or some sort of societal cleansing, a purge of the disabled or mentally unwell. Perhaps you do…) and it makes sense to take percentages of money to provide for them from those who can afford it. There are of course absolute piss takers on the welfare bill. But they take far less money than the absolute piss takers at the other end who hide their earnings offshore, claim stupid money for second homes they never use, use state money for vanity projects and legacy building projects.

There are awful scroungers in all strata of society. But I like living in one that at least aims/claims to protect its weakest and most vulnerable. I can’t imagine being so up my own fundament that I would ever want NOT to.

im a higher rate tax payer by the way, though still very much a stretched middle earner. I have never and will never vote based on what I expect my future tax bill to be. If someone needs it, they can have it.

Yep

Well said.

Because you can.

60% rate + cliff-edge loss of childcare benefits means you would be better off earning £99k than ~£120k if you have one child under 5.

Because it probably wouldn’t go down well with my employer.

Well, that’s nothing to do with which party will be in charge after July! Go part time if you want to and if your employer says you can. Your high mortgage and nursery fees are/were on the Tories.

Under employment is a huge factor in the productivity of a country. So, while someone may be more than capable of doing the op's job, there is still a net loss to the country when swathes of people take a step back.

Yeah, but for all of the petulant threads on MN, we won't see huge swathes of people stepping back. We've heard these warnings before. They never materialise.

Can you live somewhere cheaper? £100k as a single earner does not go far in London.

When were these warnings? What are you thinking of

How rude and patronising! 35k is about median UK salary. Many people earning 35k have much interest in career progression.

Given Labour will most likely want to expand government spending the money will either have to be borrowed ( which just means a deferral of cost to the future) or taxes raised or both. So yes anyone who’s already being kicked by the tax system is probably going to get kicked some more. I don’t see why OP shouldn’t worry about it, theres a good chance she’ll have less to show for her efforts. The Tories fucked up and Labour will most likely make it a bit worse for people in the tax band of doom.

OP I would just try to stuff as much money as possible into my pension and keep working full time.

Pay extra into pension to avoid this 60% hit.

That's what most people around that level do -particularly when you show them the figures. Often employer will also pay the 13.8% ni saved too.

So £113.8 into pension at a cost of around £38 (inc personal ni)

We have the highest tax burden ever under the Tories.

Who cares if in your fictionalised future you can't send your children to private school? Many more people will be much better off. I am in same tax bracket, I'm not opposed to higher taxes as a rising tide lifts all ships, but that's often the difference between left and right wing voters

And record debt.

I think you might be surprised by how many people will quietly manoeuvre themselves so that they aren't paying more tax in some cases, or in cases were people are in striking distance of retirement, on a tipping point with the cost of childcare or who throw the towel in with private education, might step away from their roles completely with more punitive tax measures.

Do you think Labour will reduce, maintain or increase taxes?

They weren't created by the tories, they were created by Labour!

On 22 April 2009, the then Chancellor Alistair Darlingannounced in the 2009 Budget statement that starting in April 2010, those with annual incomes over £100,000 would see their Personal allowance reduced by £1 for every £2 earned over £100,000.