As predicted, any suggestion of paying more tax is met by utter derision and threats from the hysterical daily mail reading classes.
The country is a shell of what it once was, because of 14 years of ideological austerity. We have lower corporation tax, lower CGT, lower IHT, no wealth taxes and lower top rates of progressive tax than many other countries.
We have lower pensions, levels of basic benefits, spend less on health, education and infrastructure. We have the highest wealth inequality of any major European nation and the lowest level of social mobility. We did have a larger level of children living in poverty, till the Tories changed the definition of it. We have the highest level of things like foodbank use in Western Europe at least and other countries in central and Eastern Europe are predicted to go beyond our living standards in the next decade.
We have a generation which is shorter than previous generations, average height amongst 5 year olds falling every year from 2013, the most expensive university education in Europe, we have life expectancy lowering. The list is fucking endless.
Something has to change, and we should be ashamed as a nation that those who have benefitted the most from this society view their achievements as separate and we should be mortified that they make threats about what they we do if we do ask them to contribute more.
You expected adoration and for people to genuflect to your munificence for being "net contributors" , yet this is a very basic calculation, and when run over a lifetime, only about 3% of people die in net benefit. Change a few things in the calculation ( like adding in indirect societal benefits) and its about 0.5%, and the number of net contributors falls dramatically. Most, including you, will die in net tax deficit. You are not the masters of the universe, and will not be treated as such.
I see the usual threats are out there about leaving.
You won't. You are less globally mobile than you think. You can make up whatever story you want to try to justify it on here, but you know deep down you aren't really moving.
Reduce your hours. Great, someone else is going to benefit from them. If you think no one else can do your job, you are almost 99% wrong. There may be one or two of you, but far too many of you who threaten spend far too long on MN every day ( and night) to be quite as important and indispensable as you claim.
If your kids are an in private school and you can't afford the fee increase? You most likely made a bad financial decision there anyway and you were over stretched. Sorry. Most parents will just swallow the increase by making minor changes to spending.
Your parents are going to have to pay for their own social care with the wealth they amassed, this is only right and fair, YOU did not earn the inheritance that you thought you were getting, and they benefitted from untaxed property gains for generations.
IHT will go up, and it is fair, you didn't earn it, and your parents got tax breaks on it. They aren't being taxed, they are dead.
Council taxes need to change, people in newer build houses ( and there are a lot since 1992) are paying higher rates than people in much more valuable houses. Most people will again just be paying a bit more.
The changes will effect EVERYONE, but the future has got to get better. We can't run the country for the benefit of the rich, privileged and highly paid any longer.