October budget going to be painful

[increasinglyconcerned]

Here we go..... I knew it. Labour were promising not to hike our taxes in the election campaign and here we are.... apparently they discovered £22 billion black hole in his first weeks in the role and it's not his fault.

Let me guess, those of us who earn six figures and already pay 45% will pay EVEN more and take home even less. It's the hard workers who will take the brunt. What's the point in working anymore!

I earn a little over £120k and I'm taxed the same as those earrings £500k.

Before people jump in saying they don't feel sorry for me, I work full time to support my family, as of January I will have 2 DCs in nursery, plus my mortgage and get ZERO free hours childcare, whilst they keep promising free childcare but I just pay more for everyone else to benefit.

I cannot afford to pay more taxes to fix this country and especially when so many people are getting a free ride and not paying their way, ranging from millionaires with tax havens to those claiming benefits dishonestly.

apparently they discovered £22 billion black hole in his first weeks in the role and it's not his fault.

😂

Didn’t Labour say no income tax hikes? If they didn’t put that in their manifesto, then raise them anyway swing voters won’t forget that in 5 years’ time.

The low bar for poor pensioners who worked enough to get full state pension but not enough to save into a private one (women, more often than not) isn’t going to be forgotten soon. We have a lot of pensioners who will have banked on that £200 to be able to turn the heating on at all this winter and they won’t forget. Labour must hope they’ll die thus be unable to vote in the next election.

So many pensioners on here saying cheerfully they’re not a poor pensioner so they don’t mind. And hoping for a wealth tax! Better hope that doesn’t apply to anyone not on pension credits..

Yes, I also remember Milliband saying that Labour, too, would impose austerity cuts if they got in at that election.

Two cheeks of the same arse!

I can read thank you.

My question was for the OP, considering that the average UK wage is just under 36k and a full time worker (40h / week) over 21 on nmw will get something like just under 24k.

The OP is clearly in a much better position than the UK average.

So what's OP'S point?

YANBU. Tax and spend. That's the Labour way. And anyone who believed their BS promise not to raise taxes either has amnesia about the government between 1997-2010 or they aren't old enough to remember.

Someone posted a really helpful chart on a thread around the election time showing the take home pay of people on salaries from £0-500k or something and it showed that someone earning £120k actually takes home no more than someone on a much more modest income, because the tax burden is so high and the benefits and top-ups so generous. You might as well earn a lower salary tbh and get the lower tax rate and tax credits.

It's shit - and I appreciate that the tax burden as it is currently was set under a Conservative government. The bottom line is that neither Con nor Lab are fit to run a country. They're both fiscally irresponsible and rely on high levels of taxation to make ends meet.

You could have done what we did and have a bigger gap of 4.5 years between our DCs. Only paid for nursery for one child at a time. It was still fairly expensive with one in nursery and one in wrap around care at school.

You're not wrong, but general economic principles come into play too. People earning six figures have money left over. I'm not making a judgment on that - obviously people who earn a lot of money deserve to spend it on what they want, be that savings or holidays or bigger houses or debt repayment or fast cars - but they have money left over after tax & bills.

A lot of people earning less simply don't have anything left, so there's nothing more to tax.

Add in that if people stop spending on takeaways and coffees and tourist attractions, the economy will stall, and you've got a problem.

The UK's taxation system has never been the best, and the current situation is dire. It's very likely to be very painful for everyone.

OP you’ll get a rough time on here as high earners always do.

I agree with you. Earning around £120k puts you in one of the worst tax positions re: childcare, losing personal allowance etc. It’s rubbish, and it’s about to get worse. You aren’t BU to feel despondent.

I think her point is quite clear, have another read?

I agree op & I’m very suspicious of this ‘terrible unknown until now’ deficit too. It’s going to be a bumpy ride & a short term for LO I think.

Those with the broadest shoulders should bear the heaviest burden, so the pensioners on £12k then.

The comments will be ruthless but I hear you loud and clear.

OP - have you looked at increasing your pension contributions? Dropping your taxable income below £100k with salary sacrifice is usually worth it if you can afford to be tying up the funds in your pension pot. Appreciate with small kids that’s not always easy.

Exactly this

Then why don’t you? Genuinely, I’m curious - why don’t you quit your job, take a much lower salary which places you in a lower tax bracket, and contribute less? What’s stopping you?

I doubt that many pensioners voted for Starmer anyway. Look at the stats, Labour's number of votes didn't really rise in the last general election by much. They won because the Sunak was unpopular and the Tory vote disappeared to Reform and Libdems.

Labour won't care about the Pensioner vote. They only care about their core voters, i.e. public sector, unionised industries and those dependant upon benefits.

They don't give a flying fig about pensioners nor private sector workers. It's blindingly obvious which groups will get the hand outs and which groups will get rinsed for tax rises!

With a decent new leader and getting rid of the Tory idiots from the front bench (Rees Mogg, etc) there's every chance they'll push out Starmer at the next GE.

You have to remember that the Tories lost 3 million votes due to Rishi excluding them from the covid support (i.e. freelancers, self employed, small businesses etc), - many of them wouldn't vote for Sunak, but would probably vote for the Tories under a new leader.

They need to start supporting the middle again. If they want to boost productivity, which is the only way out of the doldrums, they need to give healthcare, childcare, elderly parent care support for working people. Now.

Agree with you and I'm on a lot less than you (sub £100k). Feel like there is no point trying to progress when it will all be taken away.

"It's the hard workers who will take the brunt."

With you until this point, OP.

A high salary doesn't always equate to working harder.

Some of the laziest people I know are on 6 figure salaries, and some of the hardest workers are on minimum wage.

I wouldn't say I don't feel sorry for you, I get it, but you are in a better position to pay than others, you have a privileged life compared to many.

And you don't pay the same tax as someone on £500k+. You pay the same proportion of tax after a certain amount of earnings. That's different.

Thanks, I did look into this but just don't have that option with the outgoings at the moment. I couldn't space my children out either as I had my first at 37 and have an 18 month age gap. Ultimately, I was worried about fertility. It's going to be tight for a few years.

If low income workers pay more tax ... they'll need more top up benefits to pay for the basics like food and water.

Paying top up benefits costs more than the tax they'll pay therefore pointless (and would still cost you more in the long run).

You are actually bitter and moaning that you earn too much to get freebies (nursery costs).

It sucks being on a decent wage and still feeling like you can't afford the odd splurge, but that's reality. I don't begrudge people on lower wages getting help with nursery costs. Without it, they wouldn't be able to work. And there is so much that needs investing in as a country (education, health care and policing just to start), taxes have to rise.

@CrimsonShades I'm looking into it.

I do loads of overtime as we're so short staffed at the hospital and I'm burnt out. We don't get a bonus for it though.

This.

And yanbu op, very depressing and a different message to pre GE

We already had a high tax burden looks like it's going up again

You've answered your own question there - managed to clear my debt and buy a house.

This. In spades.