To ask what you'll be doing to avoid the Labour tax hikes

[OptimismvsRealism]

Pension contributions
Gift aid
Selling my shares now while CGT is relatively low

What really worries me is that all the professionals we actually need to want to be here will just fuck off elsewhere, though.

It's not like we're knee deep in hospital doctors.

Totally. Is it wrong to say I hardly noticed the change to tax rates here?
I am, however, a lowly paid higher education professional. (c£55k with a PhD)

They’re not the demographic that Labour are targeting. Starmer has said “those with the broadest shoulders”, that won’t be someone bringing home two grand a month.

Many boomers have already downsized at least once since their families left home so there won't be as much (in value terms) on the market as you might imagine.

I agree most older people with larger houses downsize as they get older. Not all of course, but it is common.

And many haven’t. I personally don’t know anyone who has. For many “downsizing” hasn’t released any equity because they still want to live in a nice house, when my parents moved for practical reasons their new property actually cost them more than the previous property fetched.

We’re continually being told here that one in four pensioners are millionaires, most of that money is in bricks and mortar. When hundreds of thousands of properties hit the market in a relatively short time frame, it will inevitably impact the housing market.

@blossomtoes that idea of millionaires includes their house and pension pots. To get a pension of £12k pa, you need a £300k pension pot.

Lots of people with money downsize to bungalows. These are smaller in indoor space, but are expensive.

@Anonym00se I'm not convinced. Labour's idea of "rich" is anyone who works hard & saves. £40k in some parts of the country is rich, good pension, nice house etc. in others it's hardly above poverty line if supporting a family.
Where will they draw the line?

I know. 🤷‍♀️

@blossomtoes Also the million pounds is per household Not per person. So very easy to get to a million pounds of assets. A couple with a house they own worth £600k and both have a pension pot that brings in a private pension of £8k a year each. That will officially make them a millionaire as a household, so part of that 1 in 4.

fullfact.org/economy/millionaire-pensioners/

I know 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Boomers still own £ billions in property. And when they die all those properties will come to market in a very short time frame.

And by the desire to live in an area with higher wages. Many of us moved to the SE to go to university and simply never left because we couldn't earn as much elsewhere. If you can get yourself established in housing in the SE that's fine, but sadly it's much tougher now as demand outstrips supply and mortgage salary multiples can't keep up.

Many parents of AC like myself have downsized to help AC get on the housing ladder. Hopefully this will mean that any increase in council tax or housing tax won't sink us as we're now living in less valuable housing than our offspring. We also have far less capital for any sort of wealth tax to take, and will leave far less for IHT.

I do. I'm one of them as are many of my friends. I'm living in a property worth a third of the value of my old family home as are others.

So your experience tells you one thing and mine tells me something else. It’s almost as if all people of a certain age are different. Astounding.

'Millionaire' no longer indicates truly rich as it did only 20 years ago. Well-to-do, and pretty comfortable, yes, but much of the 'wealth' is tied up in over-valued houses (which could be accessed via equity release). When they are sold, large 4-bed homes may fall in value, or so the FT speculated some years ago. You could argue that relative to bungalows, we're nearly there.

I'm happy to pay more to get better services

Completely agree. It’s a frequently used stick to beat us avaricious pensioners with round here though!

I’d rather they tax pensioners sat on millions of assets than working families. Labour isn’t a fan of pensioners so I’m hoping that’s the silver lining. Quite funny that when people explain about income not being what it once once due to COL and housing costs - pensioners fall over themselves to say it’s tough. Yet they sit there in their hoarded wealth taking far more than they ever paid in and they aren’t rich? I hope they are hit harder than any other demographic.

Vicious.

Are you always so determined to avoid being wrong?!

Not really. I look forward to it. Happy for the workers to keep paying their triple lock whilst asset hoarding.

Pot/kettle?

Really nasty stuff.

Targetting the old.

Not quite. The old who are sat on millions in assets. Yes, it’s about bloody time they paid their fair share instead of expecting people on PAYE who will never have it as good as they did.

Yep Labour will punish people who’ve tried to provide for themselves.