to think 51% tax is ridiculous, and already to be planning to move to Asia

[hedgiemum]

Namechanged. Married to someone who earns well in excess of £150,000 a year, though neither does he earn 7 figures.
He is still quite young in his career - a recent promotion to a senior position, but has not been earning this kind of money of long, so we still have a mortgage and haven't saved large amounts (what we have saved is through his pension which is no longer going to be particularly worth doing.)

He phoned me a minute after end of budget to say he'd watched it with his boss whose reaction was that he would move the company (not a bank, but in finance) to Asia. Probably Hong Kong - 12% tax rather than the 51% we'd be paying here.

Seems like a kneejerk reaction, and clearly we can afford to pay more, but boss doesn't feel he'll get good productivity from staff if they are getting to take home less than half their income. Plus it decreases ever-present risk of them being headhunted by companies in lower-tax economies.

AIBU to be PLEASED (I used to hate tax exiles.) Partly because it just does not seem fair. Partly because this country has been run so badly by New Labour of whom we had such high expectations, and the medical care we have received has been shite, the local schools are shite, the roads are insanely busy and yet is costs so much to live here.

Actually, didn't name change because it didn't feel right to; I stand by my comments so why should I hide behind even more anonymity than we all already have...?

Hedgie you are going to get flamed for this

I agree that the 50% tax band will be irrelevant because high earners will employ taxation specialists to avoid it. Some may relocate... I doubt that many will.

I'd love to feel sorry for you. But I can't. So I'll try to make you feel better instead. I have no job. We have to sell our home so that we can stay solvent There. Feel better now?

"but boss doesn't feel he'll get good productivity from staff if they are getting to take home less than half their income"

I agree entirely with this sentiment.

Here in France, where second earners in a married couple are taxed at the first earner's marginal rate, this issue arises frequently for women married to high-earning partners. It's a nightmare for them and for the companies they work for.

Budgets are job creation schemes for accountatnts.

I don't mind our taxes going up but still pretty fecked off that so much of it was spent bombing the crap out of Iraq and paying for second homes and dodgy porn....

Its never the tax I have probs with - God knows enough people need help and the infrastructure needs maintaining but it just always feels like a shafting when you see what the fuckwits spend it on

Gets bread to make toast from Hedgie being flamed
Agree that tax exploitation specialists will have people queuing out their doors though

Is £150k the new band for the 51% tax rate? (I've not heard the budget).

Can't decide if you are being unreasonable or not.

Depends on how much extra income this change makes to the government and whether it will precipate a brain drain of the most talented people from this country.

On the other hand, I am not sure that those earning high salaries due from working in financial services are such a great loss to any of us.

I am sure that this will get pretty heated though!

hope you enjoy counting your money in hongkong. after all there is nothing else worth living for other than money.

Oooh, getting judgy with your new name already, CatBumFace? Nicely done.

If your DH is presumably reasonably intelligent, hopefully he should understand that a tax rate of 51% over £150,000 doesn't mean that someone pays half their income in tax

It means that anything he earns over £150,000 (by which point he will have quite a nice amount of money in the bank already) will be taxed at 51%.

51% tax is insane and, in some ways, a breach of a persons rights. People work to earn for themselves and their family not the government and using high earners as a cash cow is wrong.

It will never be an issue for me personally and i have to admit to being a bit envious of people who it will affect insofar as they earn enough money to be affected, however it is still not right IMO.

THe medical care I've had has been great.
The local schools are good.
The roads are busy - what has that got to do with it? Surefire way to make roads less busy is to tax car owners into oblivion - not sure that that would run in tandem with being anti additional taxation.

I personally agree with additional taxation of very high earners. To be honest I think that tax-flight will be limited.

I can take it! Enjoy the toast! Anyone got marshmallows?!

I'm not saying that a lot of people don't have it worse. DH and I were both raised in poorer backgrounds; state school, small houses etc.. We have not inherited anything and never will do so. I run a consultancy doing pro bono work writing grants for charity, and we are very active in our community and with 2 charities. We help extended family a lot. ALL things we SHOULD be doing and do not pat ourselves on the back for. But they are our CHOICE.

I know there are taxcons for multimillionaires who can put money through companies or properties. But for those like DH who are employed by someone else I'm not aware of any. Only thing we do is hold savings in my name as I'm not a tax payer - thats not a dodge.

Have had 3 texts from city friends already debating about hong kong/ Singapore/ Switzerland!

KingCanute, in Nordic countries (and Hungary in the 90s, don't know about now) most taxes are/ were around that level if not higher. Public services in Scandinavia are said to be brilliant (like here??). Surely not having good hospitals and schools should be considered "a breach of a persons rights"?

And of course, we lose our personal allowances as well, so that's another chunk being additionally taxed isn't it?

And no point squirreling it away in our pensions either, now. Could stuff a bit more in the ISA, I suppose, except that ours is now only paying 0.1% interest.

Feel completely screwed and will consequently spend the rest of the day in a sulk.

I'm with hedgie all the way on this one.

It is perfectly reasonable for someone in your pariticular situation to find 51% tax over £150,000 ridiculous. BY all means, just go ahead and move to Asia.

What MegBusset said.

Only the amount you earn OVER £150,000 pa will be taxed at 51%. So if you earn £170,000 for example, you will pay 51% on £20,000.

In other words you will still be £10,000 better off then if you earned £150,000 pa.

Hedgie, I'm not saying you shouldn't be upset. I am saying that things could be a hell of a lot worse, so it helps a great deal to count your blessings (maybe once you've got over the shock of 51%). We are counting ours - the fact that we actually have a home to sell which we can use to help keep us buoyant is utterly wonderful and we feel very lucky.

MerryHenry, I am not really sure what your point is? We do have good hospitals and schools... well I thought we did?

As a consultant in the NHS, your post has annoyed me incredibly.

You complain about the NHS being shite, yet God forbid, you should actually pay for it with your taxes

tiredlady, who's post?

I agree with the OP - I said on a different thread that I was fed up not having any money despite earning a good salary.

If you live in London, have a mortgage and a couple of cars and kids then £150k isn't a fortune - i'm not saying it's peanuts but £150k in London doesn't make you rich.

I agree with the premise that higher earners should pay more tax, of course they should BUT you have to take into consideration how expensive everything is.

Megbusset - Actually I am a maths thicko and have literally spoken to him for one minute, so I hadn't grasped that point But still 41% before £150,000 like now, and 51% after will mean much more going to IR.

I struggle to survive on what I earn so please do feel free to p*ss off abroad on your high salary but please don't come crying back to the UK if you need NHS healthcare.