To not be happy about paying this much tax

[Lovingthehamsterwheel]

Name changed to enable objectivity.
I just saw this new tax calculator that shows you how much tax you are paying in total, including all hidden taxes, council tax etc

For a Person on 75k a year, 44 percent of earnings go on tax.

10k of that is spent on welfare.

Am i being unreasonable to think this is absolutely a terrible time to be alive in terms of taxes in the UK. And it is no wonder higher earners are leaving the country.

tax.corgi.global/

Yes thank you.

There's quite a bit of fraud or error

"In the UK, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) estimates that in the financial year 2023–24, £9.7 billion was overpaid due to fraud and error"

Fuel duty: varies drastically from person to person, and some people don't pay this at all.

Do you walk or cycle everywhere? I'm impressed

Ive just done the calculation and it includes all forms of tax that I pay.
I pay a lot and most of it seems to go
In welfare. Far too much in fact.
I work hard and fail to see why I have to support other people's DC's as well as my own.
More people should work.

Let's not forget that the biggest welfare spend is pensions:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governmentpublicsectorandtaxes/publicsectorfinance/articles/howisthewelfarebudgetspent/2016-03-16#:~:text=Welfare%20covers%20a%20number%20of,pensions%20at%20£111%20billion.We

Almost half of that "welfare" amount is state pensions. Are you going to renounce yours? I'm not.

These threads are so awful. People always resent paying tax but they want stuff to work. They want to be able to get a doctor's appointment or for their kids to have decent schools or the roads not to be filled with potholes. Where's the money supposed to come from? And no I don't resent paying bloody welfare. What exactly are we supposed to do with people who can't work otherwise? Let them starve? FFS some people are SO selfish and short sighted.
And yes I do pay tax before you ask. Me and DH paid about £162k between us last year according to that calculator. You know what that means? It means we're FORTUNATE enough to be high earners and not struggling to feed our kids. I'm HAPPY.

It is like a different world to what I know in rl on this thread

I don't know one person in real life who thinks the tax system is right at the moment. That mean both in the sense that it is too punitive and disincentivises people to earn more, and, that the tax money that is collected is basically pissed up the wall as literally every public service is appalling (and not for lack of funding)

Tax is a contract between citizen and government - citizens agree to pool money together to provide services that would be too expensive for them to buy for themselves (roads, healthcare, bin collection, defence etc) and the government spends that money wisely and carefully to provide those services for the citizens.

I cannot understand how anyone can seriously tell me that the contract is not completely broken.

Theres this weird vibe about tax on this thread - like it is just a GIVEN that governments can demand more and more money from people without upholding their side of the bargain. I don't get it.

It's because we don't pay enough to cover these costs!!

Is it? Really?

Just a quick glance at France - Both countries exhibit similar levels of public healthcare funding per capita, with the UK at £3,567 and France at €3,830.

Can you with a straightface tell me that the NHS does not have enough money and that there is no waste and it is hyper efficient?

It's utterly fascinating to me to see how many people in this thread think that employer's NI isn't a tax on their income. It's literally just an admin difference. It's money that comes out of the total amount that an employer is willing to pay for your services and goes to the government instead of to you.

This is very disingenuous - we live in a civilised society (just) and taxation pays for key public services. We all use them to one extent or another over our lifetime, some more some less, that's how it works. People bleating they pay too much tax will have kids that go to school, university, drive on the roads, have bins collections, use the NHS, receive a state pension one day, maternity pay, sick leave.... The list is endless. But yes, let's focus on the piddling proportion that benefits make up and the even smaller proportion where it's fraudulent.... To rile up the masses and promote 'them- isms', it's pathetic really. You should be happy you don't live in a third world country, do something positive, make a difference, get out from behind the keyboard and find something positive to do with your life... ..

Why do you keep saying your anecdote isn't an anecdote then?

Mn is often oddly like this about tax. I think it’s a quirk of a forum, easy to post pay more tax as someone else will pay it.

Because an anecdote can be something that is considered unreliable information but also a short amusing story about a real person. So it was a play on word to make my point.

That is just not a realistic interpretation of what is going on

Literally everyone wants their bin collected (there is a whole other thread there about councils charging extra even for that), we mostly all agree that we want to have free at point of access healthcare in the UK, we agree there should be a safety net for people in hard times..........but that isn't what the money is being spent on really is it?
We spunk money out for absolutely insane things at insane levels. With the amount of funding the NHS has, it should be a world class service.

I'm trying not to mention immigration because people's head literally fall off, but it has to be mentioned - logically, rationally, just even with an instinctual thought, can you seriously tell me that taxpayers in the UK should be paying for people to be housed in hotels who are not citizens, who do not pay tax or contribute? I just can't understand why people hold onto this argument. You can only say that taxpayers must pay those costs if you don't believe in any sovereignty of borders at all - that being a citizen counts for nothing at all, that the UK is not actually a thing. I think that is a real shame that people have no pride in being a citizen of the UK, and believe it is open to absolutely anyone - and working people must pay for that

Piddling? We pay out more for disability benefits alone (not UC, not pensions) than we do for our entire military.

Not by much. It’s almost even now

Doesn’t take long for someone to show their anti immigration colours

literally fall off? Literally?

Only if numbers have changed dramatically recently - disability £39bn, defence £57bn.

Pensions are £124 billion.

What is it about a conversation about immigration that you find so difficult?

Well yes there will be SOME money spent on these things. But small fry compared to what the population as a whole expect and need in a civilised society. There's a safety net, as there should be (in a civilised society). But let's blame faceless 'others' for all issues, even if that argument is an illogical and yes, quite often a racist one. To those who get so wound up by the 'unfairness' of it all, it's worth taking a step back and practicing gratitude - being grateful for what you have will bring you greater joy than being angry about what others have. To walk a day in someone's shoes... take a moment to consider a different perspective on life and this will bring you greater happiness in the long run.

Between 2010 - 2019 the UK spent on average 18% below the EU 14 average for health spending. That is years of less investment.

We have fewer beds than France, fewer doctors per head, fewer MRI and CT scanners. Spending for investment in NHS estate and equipment was re distributed to day-to-day expenditure - hence why some buildings are falling down. We have less effective and up to date equipment.

We simply have not matched investment over the 14 years in either day to day spending or capital infrastructure projects.
All set out here -

https://www.health.org.uk/features-and-opinion/features/how-does-uk-health-spending-compare-across-europe-over-the-past

Nothing. I’ve said a few times previously on other threads that there is a genuine conversation to be had about how we cope with immigration and ensure areas where infrastructure is struggling are invested in

you lazily connected it to high taxation levels as an example of wasting money, with some claptrap about pride in our country thrown in

I'm not sure if you are taking the piss, I do hope so

Have you ever heard of toxic empathy?