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.

OP I earn more than you and agree that £130k you're not really better off than £100k but it is an extremely fortunate position especially once you are not paying childcare.

You could get your salary under £100k I reckon if you put your bonus into your pension pot..worth doing the sums. I managed to get my earnings under £100k by doing this.

Genuinely sorry to hear this.

Of course not everyone can maximise their career potential for some valid reasons. Carers, the sick of disabled to name just a few. My point wasn't about that but more that a TA is a step down from a teacher and is paid accordingly. I don't doubt it was impossible to continue to be a teacher in your circumstance. There are many people that could step up though and they choose not to. They prefer having less responsibility and working fewer hours.

It wasn't a criticism of being a retail worker as I clean and work in retail but there should be a pay difference between the two jobs! They look after and help teach children to learn. Obviously the less stress in a Tesco job is very appealing and I can see why people leave a TA job and move along to Tesco.

@Bumpitybumper yes I hear you and agree. Just frustrated and bitter I guess.

Yes £120,000 is a great salary but the more you earn the more that is expected of you; it comes with stress, pressure and additional hours. And believe it or not £120,000 a year does not make you wealthy today. There are plenty of people in this country who are wealthy and could be paying more tax. There is also a large number who have more income than this but take a small salary and pay themselves in dividends to avoid paying a large amount of tax. I hope it is this group that the govt targets.

Whereas being a carer, perhaps doing PEG feeding caries no responsibility at all.

A salary of £120,000 puts you in the top 4% of earners in the country.

OP is wealthy.

Where would the country be if everyone chose not to go into the higher paid jobs?

Good question and good point.

But also there are plenty of people who seem to think the low paid (generally public sector workers) are greedy for wanting more and it's often said they could get more of the worked harder - implying they don't. These are now generally the same people who where heralded as keyworkers holding the country together during the pandemic.

Meanwhile it's the middle who seem to be getting trounced the most from what I've heard.

But this is the problem that needs fixing. Not really the earnings but the narrative around those who earn NMW against those who are high earners. And that needs to start from the top and until the government (I include every party on this) stop using rhetoric to cultivate culture wars nothing will change.

Personally I don't mind paying my fair share of tax if I can see the reward in it from good public services. I do mind being shoved into a box by semantics!

Don’t be ridiculous. I can guarantee that that you certainly wouldn’t be just as well off on benefits.

You’ve no idea what it’s like for people like me. Disabled by cancer, working full time on minimum wage, will never afford to buy my own house. The rent is more than my take home pay. There’s nothing cheaper. My energy bills have quadrupled. I am a single mum of two teenagers.

I was also crippled by nursery fees, then after school clubs.

I get Universal Credit, Child Benefit and PIP full weight in both components and I’m bloody grateful for it. I couldn’t survive without it. My dad pays most of my rent from his pensions. When he dies I won’t be able to afford my rent. I live with a gnawing, all pervading anxiety about how I can survive.

Do you want to swap, OP?

But this is the problem that needs fixing. Not really the earnings but the narrative around those who earn NMW against those who are high earners.

I also think folk on 6 figures need to acknowledge they are in fact high earners. Top 4% of earners and yet I’ve seen folk in this thread say they have an average salary on 6 figures. It may not go far in some parts of the country but by any measure it’s a very good income.

I doubt OP will want to swap, as it's a bloody hard slog having to live like this. I'm also suffering with stage 4 cancer and feel your pain. 🌺

@ashitghost they can't face the brutal truth, doesn't fit the narrative of scroungers having it easy. Some people really can't fathom that sometimes people have been dealt a really shitty hand and it's not just a case of "working harder". Fuck em. Wish you and your family all the love in the world and trust me when I'm back working full time again I won't begrudge a penny of the tax that goes to people who need it.

Love this! Well said 👍

Perhaps it’s time for D:Ream to re-record their anthem but change ‘better’ to ‘sh177er’.

I think the real test will be whether or not this additional funding actually leads to improvements. Some organisations like the NHS and local councils seem like financial black holes that need better money management as well as of instead of more funding.

My local council has insanely inefficient practices that would be streamlined in a private sector organisation and it drives me nuts when my council tax increases then I encounter these. For example after getting married to change my name on the electoral role I need to post them a copy of my marriage certificate, which is a document they provided in the first place. They have now sent three prepaid envelopes for me to do this (I haven’t been able to because I don’t have a photocopier). This won’t be the only example and I’m sure these inefficient processes would be stamped out in private sector organisations as they’re too expensive.

oh piss off will you, isn’t there a politics board this sort of stuff can go on?

but not in the top 4% of wealthy. Nowhere near.

I'm agreeing with you.

I'd rather help children in poverty than help a middle class parent pay their nursery fees.

And believe it or not £120,000 a year does not make you wealthy today.

Mean wage (ie that taken home by most people - there will be more who earn less and more who earn more) pre-tax across all industries in the UK is £35880. So says Forbes.com, drawn from the ONS.

£120k most definitely IS wealthy! Maybe not as wealthy as it was, but definitely wealthy. And if for one second we were to agree that £120k is "normal" then what does that make those on £35k, the posties, the TAs, retail workers etc...?

It's so galling to hear about people who get a 30k bonus, 30k pay rise etc when that is more than many people earn in an entire year, not just the extra pay.

And it's worse to hear those on those kind of salaries accusing lesser paid of lacking ambition or work ethos. Some jobs simply don't command those wages. Yes, it's a choice to do those jobs but where would we be if noone chose to do them due to wage? FFS. If we all went on sustained strike for a while, people would certainly notice and complain.

Yeh OP stay in your lane, in fact go the whole hog and start claiming benefits.

Jeeeze the OP earns a bloody great salary from hard work, women are supposed to support other women here, and yet "don't be so successful"

Such a joke.

@Lms63738 where are you pulling that 6 million people figure from and how are you defining "unproductive"?