Anyone else lost a bit of ambition now they’ve been taxed to the brink?

[Peasontoastt]

I used to be extremely ambitious and was really eager to reach some sort of financial security. As a consequence, I’m in what’s considered a highly paid career, I work hard and it took me many years to train.

Just as I paid off my student loan (which took many years), I then had a baby and returned to work to be stuck with the childcare dilemma. I struggled through that phase and have come out the other side but being taxed so much, no child benefit, still paying for nursery even though dd has ‘free’ hours now. It’s likely that savings are going to be bashed next, so what’s the point in even putting anything aside when there’s likely going to be a 4K cap on ISAs.

I used to feel so ambitious and of course I know money isn’t everything, not by a long shot. But having worked my way up the ladder and with huge responsibilities only to feel penalised financially for doing so…what is the point? Yes I have more financial security than someone claiming benefits but equally, I am not being flippant when I say a few years of resting and being at home and being frugal is starting to seem so much more attractive. Has anyone else started feeling this way? I feel taken the piss out of by every financial angle!

Exactly, a high earner who cuts their hours is not just maximising their income after tax, but very often protecting their health, family time, or mental wellbeing. Many high-paying roles come with huge stress, long hours, and burnout risk. Choosing to step back from that doesn’t cost the state a penny in benefits — they simply pay less tax because they earn less. it’s a real difference between taking money out of the Treasury versus preserving your health while still being self-supporting

Why wouldn’t you be pleased? Your business hasn’t paid that VAT, it’s just collected it from your customers.

I really have to fucking laugh at posters claiming that high earners who cut their hours are robbing the state. This is exactly why we have such poor economic growth.

Equating people who have paid taxes for years with people who have paid none!
If a high earner is tired and burnt out, how dare they! Their jobs can't possibly be hard. If a low earmer is tired, well it's only to be expected, isn't it?

Exactly

If you can save £400 a MONTH you could go on holiday abroad if you wanted to.

Quick trip to the EU if they wanted to. Stay in a hostel.

I'm not angry (except maybe with Starmer/Reeves who have in the space of a year caused such harm to my daughters state school) , I was just asking a question. You said that a previous poster had no right to be annoyed or want more as long as they could say yes to all those questions. I was merely asking if I could say yes to some but no to others whether you feel it OK for me to want more, where is the line? Because I do want more. Not necessarily more money, but more value for the taxes I pay, more support for my daughters school, more funding for my nhs team. I think we nearly all want more of something, the question is what.

It’s bizarre

This is true to some degree but the school plays a massive part and as much as a parent is involved there is a limit.

My eldest didn't have a physics teacher for the entire 2 years of GCSE physics and had different covers who were not even teachers. Thid was an Ofsted Good school. He basically taught himself and came out with a 6 but it is ludicrous to think he wouldn't have done better with a teacher.

I've given in and gone private for my youngest, sucked up the VAT in the hope it is ploughed back into e state ducation but shit services and paying 40% tax is starting to grate.

Off-topic but I have just read the following -

Constipation and 'tennis elbow'...some of the more startling conditions for getting a taxpayer-funded car

ADHD/ADD: 9,090
Alcohol misuse: 770
Anxiety and depressive disorders: 32,160
Anxiety disorders - other/type not known: 2,600
Back pain: 6,760
Constipation: 20
Depressive disorder: 7,460
Elbow disorders - other/type not known: 50
Obesity: 800
OCD: 650
Phobia - social: 190
Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis): 40
Allergy risk of anaphylaxis unknown or not fully assessed: 10
Failure to thrive: 10
Food intolerance: 20

The mind boggles….

Entitlement doesn’t come close….

It does boggle, but it does also only boggle as far as 60 out of 60,630.

So you know, context. Not that big a deal in the grand scheme.

I feel I can understand the plight of the disabled after reading about people's experiences. I feel that people UK benefit expenditure is shockingly quite high.

I'd rather tackle UC first instead of PIP.

And where did this list come from?

People applying for PIP list ALL their health conditions when they apply. It does not mean they are getting PIP (or a car) for those conditions.

I know, and huge amounts of taxes too, tens of thousands a year of contributions, as opposed to the tens of thousands a year others take out.

I’ve done a variety of jobs, including bar staff, shelf stacker, checkout work, waitressing. And a professional career. The professional job has been hands down the hardest, in terms of personal responsibility, pressure, long hours, and the stress of making a mistake which would have huge ramifications. The silver lining of working my way up is I have a degree of flexibility there, so I can work nights after bedtime etc to get time with the children earlier. But it’s really tough and stressful. And I pay a lot of tax. And really get very little back for it, except pressure from others that we should all supposedly be happy to work ever more longer hours and pay ever more tax. I’ve a toddler and a baby, and don’t qualify for childcare hours. Our childcare bill at a standard nursery in the south east is £4.5k a month. That’s basically virtually a £100k salary net, when you add on commute costs also. Doesn’t feel worth it, so I understand people making different choices at this level.

Also I’ve relatives and friends all leaving, we’ve had leaving party after leaving party recently. And I get it, we might go also at some point in the near future

You can easily get an all inclusive 2 adults 2 kids for 2k if you shop around. No hostel needed.
I was a single working parent for a lot of years and I booked at least one holiday a year. Its just about mo ey management.
I drive a 16 year old car. Ive never had a car payment. So that was all holiday money.
My youngest is 18, so we're kids recently, its not from years ago when it was easier

Ah lovely. That's great.

Are you aware that a small percentage of people with tennis elbow will not be able to perform normal every day activities in the normal way everyone else does? I’m a small percentage of people it becomes intractable and resistant to therapies.

I challenge you to go through life normally with an arm so painful it cant be used.

its not the bake of the condition that’s the deciding factor - it’s how it affects the person in the daily activities.

But it’s pretty financially irresponsible to go on holiday if you have no rainy day savings. You could lose your job tomorrow. Then what? Oh yeh, get the state to fund your lifestyle instead.

You just need to move your income before PAYE is applied.
There's many options, some morally ok like company shares, pensions etc and some not so.
Speak to an accountant/financial advisor. We pay the bare minimum on our incomes and channel our earnings elsewhere and it's all above board and legal

The people who respond indignantly to these kind of posts don't tend to understand how progressive taxation works.

Once you earn over £100,000, you start losing your tax-free Personal Allowance – one pound of allowance per every two pounds over this £100,000 threshold, resulting in an effective 60% tax trap. If you do the maths, this is an income tax rate of exactly 60% for the income between £100,000 and £125,140. Furthermore, those earning more than £100,000 also lose entitlement to childcare allowances, effectively creating 75% tax band.

Now I accept that those on that kind of money aren't front of the queue when fucks are given out, but surely you can see why this is a huge disincentive to ambition and hard work? £1 for me, £3 for you is step too far.

Which is why a holiday isn't essential and no-one is entitled to one.

I always thought PAYE was impossible to do anything about. I thought the only thing you could do was pensions.

There are some options for salary sacrifice.

I suggest you ensure your tax advisor is making a Disclosure of Tax avoidance notification to HMRC as this sounds dodgy as hell to me (chartered tax advisor!). Yes there are lots of schemes, no they don’t work. Putting money into a pension, cycle to work scheme, some employer share save schemes, charitable giving etc can reduce your income subject to PAYE. Anything else? Run for the hills!