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/

What’s the overall spend on this like on comparable basis? Ie do we have more people needing support?

Touché - and yours nothing to do with a caring profession.

Yup. Dh is in top 0.1% of earners in uk and we’re considering upping sticks in the next couple of years. I know I’ll be vilified for saying this, whereas if someone on 100k says it they are
seen To be justified. There comes a point when it’s just not worth it.

No, but if they’re getting PIP or DLA at any level then the benefits cap is disapplied

UK spends about 2% of GDP on disability benefits, which is lower than France, Germany, Denmark, Finland Netherlands, Sweden and Norway (the last three are all above 3%). Around 22% of working adults report a disability which is roughly European average. PIP is unusual - in that it’s not means tested, so a broader eligibility. PIP claims have doubled since introduction (in 2013) but hard to draw single conclusion from that. Mental health/neurodiversity is a large proportion of new claims and so we could arguably do better at providing common services and support for mental health/neuro differences, which would negate the need for some PIP claims. But that’s quite a big structural move at a time when public services and physical health care is also pretty fucked.

That’s great news for you and your family. You should do what makes you happy. I’m a bit confused at the way you’ve portrayed it as a negative for the rest of us though.

Aha, it becomes clear. Pure self-interest on your part. High-earning nose in the taxpayer trough.

Great news for us that there’s no point in us staying? I wouldn’t call it that. I’d rather it was worth dh’s while to have his business here and create jobs here.

Massively disagree. There is so much evidence that rest, recuperation, change of scenery, shared fun experiences etc are essential to our wellbeing. I don’t subscribe to the bare basics of survival (food, water, shelter) being enough.

the PP made a value judgment about the disabled person being less deserving than the taxpayer, which is untrue.

You could argue neither deserve the holiday more than the other, but I would argue that someone incapable of earning, and whose life is already marred by entirely accidental disability, deserves the holiday much more.

Highest taxes for 75 years have occurred under a Tory Govt... yet its Labours doing!!! unbelievable.

Up sticks then, it really doesn't matter, my DD went to work in Australia, its not a crime to do this, had a great time and had amazing experiences there, really enjoyed it.

The UK has had, still has, more than its fair share of high wealth individuals, yet has seen GDP slump over the last 17 years.. other countries, with far fewer wealthy folk, have done a lot better...

So you re not really as important as you like to think you are.

So stay then? Honestly I don't get it. If you want to live as part of a society you contribute fairly to that society. It IS fair (other than the insane cliff edges - they're definitely not fair and it should be tapered) if you are lucky enough to have a massive income (which if your DH is in the 0.1% you are) then you pay a big chunk in. That's just how it goes. My DH is also a very high net contributer (me less so!) but we're happy with that. We have no wish to just hoard more and more money. We want to live in a society. One with healthcare and education and homes for everyone. Even from a selfish perspective I want that. I don't want disease spreading because people can't afford to see a doctor, or massive crime rates because people can't afford to live. I honestly can't understand the mentality of you thinking you'd rather leave than pay tax!

Because the money doesn’t actually achieve those things now. Look around you.

I went back to my hometown in 2013 and was pleasantly surprised by how much it had improved compared to the 2000s when I lived there. I went again last month and was shocked - rubbish and graffiti everywhere, boarded up shops, endless vape/barber/nail bars. It was grotty, felt menacing and a bit sad.

In our new hometown our local library looks set to close as council tax funnels off into social care, and the swimming pool and leisure facilities went a long time ago. The bins in the park are boarded up because they can’t afford to empty them regularly enough, the centre is tired and depressing with the flowerbeds either vandalised or full of rubbish. Gangs of teenagers sit around vaping and yelling obscenities at passersby.

All the money now goes on social care, the NHS and benefits. People are depressed as our quality of life - the leisure time, the green spaces, things to do, a pleasant town to walk through - are all being degraded to prop up an increasingly needy minority who keep demanding more more more, nothing is ever enough for them.

If there’s ’no point’ staying because you pay more tax than you’d like then yes, it is good news for you that you’re making plans for an alternate life. ‘No point’ suggests you don’t have any family or friends or attachments here, don’t enjoy anything about your life here and are focused solely on how much money you have. That sounds like an awful way to live so I hope you can find a better life abroad.

That’s a pretty depressing picture, but what is it you want money to be spent on that you think would change that?

I live in a very deprived part of the country that is going through a period of fashionable regeneration. A fairly recent change in the council has meant a lot more investment in social housing, in grassroots health and wellbeing projects and arts education. It’s a long way from perfect but there are improvements - not because there’s more money but because it’s being managed differently.

But the massive social care budget is due to an aging population primarily. Which pretty much every country (with a few exceptions in Africa) is also experiencing. Why do you think it'd be hugely different elsewhere? We need to pay MORE tax. But we also need to look at taxing wealth and removing some of the freebies that are given to wealthy individuals just because of their old age. Also national insurance is a joke. It should be added to regular tax so that everyone pays it. Makes no sense it's only paid by workers.

why?

I think you have misunderstood what the other poster said and also what I said.
The other poster said that someone who cannot afford a holiday themselves should not be funding a holiday for someone else. They didn't say that a disabled person is less deserving.

'There is so much evidence that rest, recuperation, change of scenery, shared fun experiences etc are essential to our wellbeing'
Agreed. I said very similar in an earlier post. You don't need to go to Disney Land to achieve these things though! That's a luxury and told unnecessary for anyone's well being.

I don’t read the post like that. I (and others who have called it disgusting) interpret it as her saying the disabled person deserves it less than the taxpayer.

But it’s a bit pointless arguing the toss.

Disneyland is a luxury - but so what? Plenty of money is spent on things other people consider unnecessary. Street parties, IVF, making tax digital, Christmas lights, LTNs. Everyone has their own opinion on government spending, but of all the ‘wastes of money’, a disabled kid going to Disneyland seems lovely.

Agree that there is plenty of other appalling waste and decision making about how to spend tax payer money. My general view is that cut backs inevitably need to be made now and that essentials need to be prioritised over other things on a personal and societal level.

There is a day centre near me for adults with LD. They go on group trips abroad once a year.
You can look up charities on the Gov.uk site, where it shows where their money comes from. The one I mention had £54k in government grants last year.
I hope the service users had a bloody good time.

Yeah, but how do we make those decisions? And whose priorities are we following?

Are we cutting SEN funding and disability visibility because it’s cheaper to go back to institutions? Mental health provisions because asylums were more cost effective? IVF because having kids is a luxury? Shooting stray dogs because the pound is too costly?

The other way to deal with not having enough money is to get everyone to put a little more in the pot.

I mean, it’s not a good calculator as you’ve been told. I pay a tonne of tax (more than I earned a few years back) but I think that’s what people in a civilised society do.
im paying to educate teachers and doctors of the future, the building of roads, schools and hospitals- the pensions of ever increasing numbers of OAP’s and for them to receive care.

It’s what those of us who can pay, should pay for.

Unfortunately it isn’t good news for the economy, Is it, if high taxpayers take their business elsewhere, which is exactly what is happening. We have a great life here.. plenty of family, friends and attachments, but the way things are going, most of them will come with us so it’s a win-win.

Easy to be so righteous when it’s someone else’s money I guess.

There is always someone in your shadow ready to step into your place, no matter how special you believe you are.

Out of interest, does your husband pay his workers the real living wage, or am I and other taxpayers propping up his wage bill?

Well, that depends doesn’t it. The number of high earners has grown over the last decade or so, but the economy hasn’t. I’m sure we’ll manage fine.

it’s great news for you if you can go somewhere else, keep even more of your money and take all your friends and family with you. You seem so bitter for someone who also seems to have such a great life with so many options. Guess money really doesn’t buy happiness 🤷‍♀️