Absolutely rinsed in this budget - almost £1k a year worse off.

[Mushroo]

Honestly in despair at this government. On a very high level calc, we are so much worse off!

We both pay a lot into pensions, so the NI change is about £700 a year worse off.

We have an EV car, so based on our 4k a year mileage, it’s about £120 a year. (Although how it will be enforced I have no idea).

Stagnating tax thresholds, probably about £100 a year between us.

Council tax F house (4 bed end terrace, not a mansion, needs renovating). So risk of revaluation after having paid a fortune in stamp duty. We didn’t get first time buyer stamp duty relief because we bought about 2 years too early, and we moved before Covid so no relief there either. So overall we’ve paid about £30k in stamp duty already over our lifetime.

Weve already had the private school hit (which is a separate debate and we’ve accepted that) but wow, we are just being kicked on all sides.

We are classic ‘middle earners’ - earn about £70k each, but have mahoosive mortgage and pay over £2k a month in nursery fees already.

Every measure just seems to have a negative effect on our lifestyle, which is ‘comfortable’ but increasingly squeezed.

Ah that’s how it felt in Copenhagen when we lived there - the problem is here I don’t think so many people in the UK have the mentality for it - in Denmark as in Sweden the overall philosophy is janteloven, which partly means not wanting to seem it flash the fact you are ‘better’ than anyone else and equal opportunity’s for basics- be that childcare, education etc - that mentality just isn’t the thing here, people want that 4 bed detached on a new estate with bi folds and flash kitchen to show off to friends who can then see ‘how well you are doing’ I realise not everyone is like this but it’s an awful lot - this doesn’t mean you don’t get rich people in those places, you do, but it’s somewhat more understated and the general vibe was ‘everyone contributes’ - whilst tax is high, very high, you get more for it and most couples worked full time or as near as , as did single parents and that was the societal expectation from my experience - I rarely saw classes for toddlers and babies advertised etc - now some will not agree with this at all either but it certainly meant far less were claiming benefits as childcare was very affordable, and lots of good social housing too, however can you imagine the press here and even some mumsnetters
‘hard working people now paying 46% tax ( which includes social payments) however I don’t need nurseries or the NHS or well funded schools with after school care or plentiful semi rural buses ‘ etc etc - so I just see that headline figure - as I’ve said on other posts it seems to me plenty want scandi levels of services and social provision and yet Dubai levels of tax -

Personally I would be looking at vouchers too, not useable on tobacco or booze and ID needing to be presented and vouchers given to the mother

People on this thread have quoted take home for OPs income as 8.5k each month.

8.5 k each month over 12 months is £102k - so OP I already paying 38k in tax.
38k out of 140k and 1k more making it 39k out of 140k income.

Certainly not 1k out of 140k income.

@justteanbiscuits Sweden is an easy one on language and getting by , it was when we lived in Netherlands, depending what you do of course - 98% speak great English -several companies in the Danish business centre I was in conducted all their meetings in English too . However getting sponsorship into Sweden is not easy at all now , nor Denmark. Ha ha about half the speed twice the volume, def some truth in that

Thing is if they actually investigate they will find tax and ni an awful lot higher in most other places they might be able to get a job - and if not it will have other compromises, higher prices , pay for lots of services and nay find themselves no better off at all - we may well go to Sweden or Netherlands for 4 or 5 years but this is for business reasons, not for tax reasons and if anything will be a bit worse off , however other aspects balance it up for us -

It closed the loophole of self employed contractors setting up a limited company, paying themselves £10k a year salary and taking the rest as dividends at corporation tax rates rather than paying income tax.

OP is saying (and the poster is quoting) that she is paying an extra £1k a year tax. Not that that’s all she pays

Not at all, I said in my post I was in that position. I'm worse off (a lot) by this budget but it still makes sence to me. We need to increase the coffers, the fact I'm worse off doesn't mean I'm against it. Someone's got to pay for it.
There's a saying that says if you're not doing well vote for a better life for yourself, if you're doing okay vote for a better lofe for others. I'm doing okay but I choose to live in a society that supports us all and I'm aware that there's a cost to that.

Not at all, I said in my post I was in that position. I'm worse off (a lot) by this budget but it still makes sence to me. We need to increase the coffers, the fact I'm worse off doesn't mean I'm against it. Someone's got to pay for it.
There's a saying that says if you're not doing well vote for a better life for yourself, if you're doing okay vote for a better lofe for others. I'm doing okay but I choose to live in a society that supports us all and I'm aware that there's a cost to that.

Because the vast majority of people care about their children. Even poor/disadvantaged people.

I realise that but to say "1k out of your 140k income" is misrepresenting the truth. If anything it's 1 k out of the 102k remaining income (after already paying 38k tax).

You are in no position to tell ANYONE they. deserve to be squeezed. You don’t know people’s financial situation and your comment is incredibly ignorant

Off topic but if your electrician is going off on holidays funded by working cash in hand change your electrician (and report him to HMRC)
if someone works cash in hand, don’t engage them!!

It’s not that easy for honest tradesmen. (One electrician I know folded business and working for a facilities management company.) engage them.

The OP says missed out on FTB relief because bought at the wrong time.
So i understand that to mean they were FTB

Well I was worse off under Liz Truss and the Tory government by £3400 a year. Do we not remember when she crashed the economy and our mortgages went up? So not so bad this time around under Labour.

I would actually prefer that Labour made companies their fair share of Corporation tax. Look at Caffè Nero they pay little to no corporation tax in the UK like Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook, eBay, Microsoft. We should boycott these companies until they pay their share in the U.K. These companies have their power, the money to lobby governments because we give it to them. Time for collective action against them or no UK market.

We didn’t get first time buyer stamp duty relief because we bought about 2 years too early, and we moved before Covid so no relief there either. So overall we’ve paid about £30k in stamp duty already over our lifetime

I think it sounds very much like they've moved a couple of times.

The IP literally said in their opening post how much their finances have been impacted.

I met a few people who'd start a business selling and buying vouchers...😕

We all knew Liz Truss was silly. That's why we had Rishi Sunak. I think had he stayed in and won in 2024 we'd be in a better position now.

Well they state their financial position in the original post and it's a discussion forum so I think my post is valid. You also accused me of not caring as long as someone else is paying which was directly the opposite of what I said in both posts. I'm paying more now...and that's fine.
Yoy might consider my opinion ignorant, and your entitled to your opinion as I am to mine. I think its ignorant to live a lifestyle you have chosen and then be miffed when that's squeezed because there's no funds and the people in poverty who had really been feeling the weight of the COL crisis have carried far worse for a fair few years now. I have empathy enough, I'm not a nasty person IMO but there is GIVE in the vast vast majority of middle earners and we need it to even out.

There's a lot to be said for getting out of the rat race, living somewhere that house prices are more affordable and being able to spend time with your kids before they're grumpy teenagers who hate their parents.

It is still not your right to say they should get rinsed. You may not like where their money goes to but you don’t get to say they deserve it. Unbelievable attitude

Pretty sure it's the chancellor of the exchequer's right though

Unfortunately that’s true but this government will be a one term only and out. Who comes next is anyone’s guess

I think if you and your partner earn £70k a year each then I'm afraid it's not unreasonable to expect you to pay more. I think it's more important to ensure that children are brought out of poverty and people can feed their families to be honest. It might suck for you and I'm sure you work really hard, but you're clearly able to afford to send your kids to private school (as is your right) so maybe just suck it up for the sake of others. This country is struggling and there are people out there on the bread line, consider yourself lucky to have what you have.