AIBU to question people claiming they would happily pay more tax?

[Towerinthegarden]

Yet another thread about should there be tax rises or spending cuts, and invariably you get a host of people coming out saying they are happy to pay more. Well you can https://www.gov.uk/guidance/voluntary-payments-donations-to-government

I’m pretty sure what they actually mean is I am happy to pay a tiny amount more on the understanding others will pay a lot more and then I’ll see the benefit. If that assumption is wrong why aren’t all these people saying they’re happy to pay more doing it?

I’d happily pay more if I felt it would make a difference to education funding. I presume my measly extra alone wouldn’t make much difference. Increased taxation across the board could significantly improve schools, which in there would improve outcomes for younger people, lead to them earning higher wages, paying more taxes, etc.

I’d be happy to pay another 1% on my income on the basis everyone else does. I’m an additional rate tax payer so 1% is still a chunk.

I'd certainly be happy to pay NI on my pension if I make it that far.

If I make it my state and LGPS pension will be about £27000 -its absurd not to be paying NI on that.

The problem at the moment is to balance the books you need to increase your income and reduce your expenses. They are terrified of touching the latter and there’s only so far you can go with the former.

more money isn’t always the answer - modernising and cutting out the dead wood would help enormously. That includes the tax system itself!

at the moment it feels like they’ve run out of ideas and introducing new taxes that raise very little because they’re scared of just bunging 1% on income tax isn’t going to help anyone

You can tell from the first response that you are correct OP. There’ll be various excuses from the people who have said they’d be happy to pay more tax but no one will be clicking on the link and signing up for it.

I pay way too much so nope, had enough.

And that’s fine in my book, because it’s honest. What I don’t buy is people saying they’d happily pay more, but not!!

But if everyone who claims they’re happy to pay more did it wouldn’t be a measly amount. Therefore my first claim is correct, you’re happy to pay a little more only if others pay a lot more.

But that’s not what I said at all. I genuinely would happily pay more if it was going into making schools better. And that’s the real problem. We all have different ideas of what governments should prioritise. I definitely wouldn’t want to pay more under a Reform government, for example.

Ik it’s often said but probably never done.

I’d pay more, but not voluntarily. It would need to be applied to all high rate tax payers. I am one, I already pay a whole heap, and I would pay more IF it was policy.

I absolutely do not want to pay more tax.

I am already paying way too much and I’m not happy with how it’s spent.

I agree with you OP by the way.

Between January 2003 and 13 March 2024, HM Treasury received 137 voluntary donations totalling £4,111,587.79.

That works out at roughly £196,000 a year over the period, although the average is heavily affected by a small number of very large donations. For example, voluntary donations totalled £972,622 in 2010 and £1.19 million in 2020, but only £28,212 in 2023.

So the best official figure for people voluntarily giving additional money to the UK government is around £4.1 million over 21 years. Which is absolutely tiny, and doesn’t touch the sides of the dozens of people who claim they’d happily pay more.

Apparently a bunch of millionaires are very keen to pay more too. Good news, they can.

I would happily pay more but my donation cannot be ring fenced for a particular area. If I could pay more and it goes to nhs for eg, I would be very happy.

I wouldn’t be happy to pay more and it goes to funding more strokes against Gaza for eg.

There are some European countries where you can actually state where your extra tax should go to.

I won't pay more as things currently stand. I've also reduced my earnings purposely over the last few years because way too much was going on tax.

Once they've sorted out the fiscal drag on income tax and VAT, I will think about throwing some more money into the coffers.

What you will probably get in response is "ah, but it doesn't work unless everyone does it".

What people often mean is they think they'd be fine with it if they had no choice and they don't expect their tax to ever actually rise. In which case it's all very noble but also hypothetical. And they could always choose not to make use of ISAs or premium bonds...

But how are you ever going to make schools better when they have to be all things to all people from potty training to dealing with every conceivable special need ever conceived. All whilst having no remit for discipline whatsoever

This could happen. Voluntary tax for those who want to pay more and say where you want it to go.

I am a high tax payer already so no!

Same. I don’t know a single person who is happy to pay more too.

@Towerinthegarden I am sure not many people knew of this before you posted it.

Please all you MNetters that say they would be happy to pay more tax on multiple political threads, do sign up and put your money where your mouth is.

It is so very easy to say you'd be happy to pay more tax. What they really mean is they want other people to pay more.

Yes, that's how society works.

Exactly 🤣

Its all bollocks - they say it because it makes them sound moral and virtuous but they dont actually mean it