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!

Really?!!!
PAYE is killing the workers slowly in the UK. The higher rate of tax is being paid people who really don’t earn that much. It’s awful.

After all the taxes, I take home about 40% of the money I earn. It feels like a high percentage! I wouldn’t mind as much if public services weren’t awful where we live. We’re emigrating for the next academic year to give that a go.

Your post is rather misleading as back then, the top rate applied to incomes over £20,000 (equivalent to £263,269 in 2023).

As a PP has said, it’s the tax bands being frozen so long causing fiscal drag which makes people feel less well off. Governments are very sneaky at using this as a less transparent way of increasing the tax take.

But what is more and more though?. I pay 50% on earnings over the equivalent of about £40k (and make a pension contribution of 9% on top). It doesn’t stop me being ambitious.

the Irish government introduced a 9% tax during the recession called the universal social charge - to pay back all the bank stuff. Tell me the UK population would be willing to do that for better services. Reading mumsnet it’s like people want the services but don’t want to pay. I can’t figure how that works.

I disagree that "ambition" only relates to work. The OP and other posters are choosing money and time over career-specific ambitions. I think that means they value money and time over career; if you have career-specific ambitions then those are what you prioritise. So it's not theatre they are less ambitious because they would pay high tax on earning over £100k - it's that they value money over ambition. If they were truly career-ambitious, they'd suck it up.

Also live in Ireland.

Yes in general Ireland has a good education system but uni isn’t free. There’s a “registration fee” which €3k approx which I appreciate isn’t at the same level as UK fees. Child benefit is also pretty generous and yes universal although that is always up for debate.

My biggest issue with the Irish tax system is how much is paid out to people who won’t work. Meanwhile people who genuinely need additional help like equipment for the disabled aren’t helped as much as they should be. There is a significant cohort of people in Ireland where it’s completely socially acceptable to not work. People give out about “corrupt” politicians but literally haven’t paid one days income tax in their entire lives.

I don’t know how to fix that problem but it’s frustrating as hell.

We may not be taxed to the brink but we are taxed in lots of little ways that aren’t means tested - congestion charge, parking….The big players (eg Amazon) pay a tiny proportion of tax compared to us littke people. That is the unfair bit.

So bad. SMEs are meant to thrive not be squashed.

Out of interest do you live in the south? I would have thought an accountant would be on a decent wage full time. Web developer less so but then they could always do the lions share of the parenting
I can see why you'd struggle living in the south with high housing costs though

There’s no point anymore having ambition. If you earn over 100k you get no child benefit, no free nursery hours when they’re younger and taxed to the hilt. So all the extra hours you put in to get that higher salary and responsibility….you might as well not have bothered as you’re taking home the same as lower paid colleagues.

Its also not a lot of money when you live in the south.

I will absolutely encourage my children to move abroad and hopefully we can follow them when we retire.

😂😂😂
😭
are you on benefits by any chance?

Tell you what I will never understand?
The disgraceful race to the bottom attitude in this country like yours.
I had a very rough upbringing and I will never ever speak to anyone like this because I’m purely envious of their wealth and their aspirations. People have every single right to complain about the ridiculous taxes they are being handed with nothing to show for it.

Op I hear you.
This is why I told myself I will never want to work in a job that pays over 50k. Too much responsibility plus with kids as well with no family... I have reached my limit lol

I get the OP’s thinking. If you earn over 100k you’ve generally taken on quite a lot of responsibility. And you are in a way being penalised for that.

Whereas someone who doesn’t take on that extra responsibility ends up in the same place or perhaps better than you money wise.

That’s very nice of your I say. It means I’ve taken a step back in my career from Head of Department to mere teacher, which correspondingly means I’ve probably said goodbye to further promotions. But I agree, it’s not a negative. My children need s bit more of their Mum and my Dad has been very ill this year (which has been ongoing for years but he spent 2 months in hospital in critical care and is very lucky to be alive) so I’m looking forward to seeing more of him while I can and helping my Mum with him too. She’s a stalwart, but very small and has arthritis. My Dad doesn’t weigh a huge amount but his a very tall man, which is remarkably challenging when you are old and frail. We all need to earn money, but time is precious too.

'Flat screen TV' like big cube-shaped TVs are even still commonly available...

@soupyspoon

a quick google gets this

https://wealthandtax.co.uk/why-the-uk-is-one-of-the-highest-taxed-countries-in-the-world-and-what-to-do-about-it/#:~:text=The%20UK%20has%20long%20been%20considered%20one%20of,complex%20interplay%20of%20historical%2C%20economic%20and%20social%20factors.

@the7Vabo The UK has the same problem with people not working but again Ireland has much better salaries.

Taxed to the brink. 😂Maybe some people but if we want all these public services (which have high employee costs, apparently they'd all decamp to the private sector doing what, who knows) then we need to pay for them.

Taxes have to go up, such a shame Labour rashly promised that they wouldn't as an election pledge and instead tinkered around at the wrong edges with terrible results.

Increase the tax threshold to £18k, NI to £8.5k and increase the basic rate of tax to 25%. Keep everything else as is...then see how that boat floats before anything else tax-related.

A lot of us are self-employed and/or directors. I run a small limited company, and a separate sole trader business. It's not just income tax and NIC, it's corp tax and VAT too. Many of us absorb VAT rather than pass it on.

The vat threshold needs raising + income tax bands need to be changed/modernised. And while you're at it, get us back in the single market. Thank you Rachel.

I am another downsizing and cutting staff/stress for a better balance and less bureaucracy.

Sometimes, with more responsibility comes more freedom.

I do the school run every day. I log off early on a Friday. Go to appointments without asking/telling anyone.

There are often benefits to being in a more senior position. Answering to less people, being trusted more, all gives you a freedom that isn’t always available until then.

If anything I’ve found being in the role I am now gives me more time and flexibility for my family.

Love the way so many people are emigrating , yet its the worse thing in the world to head to this country and try and get a better life.

the people get the government they deserve

I earn between £100-£125k and live in Scotland so every extra £ I earn I only see about 31p of. I don’t quite work full time and could take more hours at work to be full time but I really don’t see what the point is.

This is a delusion that keeps being pedalled. I think you’d find that the majority of tax payers DO NOT want to carry on with a bloated welfare state.

There's nothing stopping you from doing it. If your work isn't inherently satisfying then drop it, find something lower paid, live more frugally. It is absolutely open to you to do that.