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.

Am I really so old that no-one else remembers the 30% lowest rates and 90% highest rate of taxation that were in force when I started work in 1978 within living memory?

Now those rates had people living abroad.

< high-fives expat >

BigBellasBeerBelly - very few people made decisions that meant the end of the banks, lots of the eventual mess was caused by the press and Hedge Funds.

What most people do not realise is that if the government had not bailed out Lloyds, HBOS and RBS a lot more people whould be worried about their jobs than are at present. And the government could earn billions if share prices in the banks return to what they were 18 months ago.

And everyone who I know who works for HBOS and RBS have not received bonuses this year.

51% over 150k isn't all that much more than they already pay and if anyone can't get by on what they earn after tax at 150k they need a lesson in managing their finances.

Holy shit thats 1978 - it looks like 1970 with the line through it i didn't start work when I was 8 honest!

Can't help wondering if the company that wants to keep its remuneration competitive is being competitive throughout its staff? Or has it outsourced, e.g., cleaning services, so that the marble-lined offices are being cleaned by people who then need their income topped up with tax credits etc in order to pay rent and buy food?

That's where some of the taxes are going - back-door subsidies for companies who won't pay a living wage...

Thanks cornflake girl. Although I guess 1% of a huge slary is not going to make a mahoosive difference to one's lifestyle? Not that I would know.

I particularly like the line, 'The damage is done, so I guess I be leavin'. . . ', BitofFun .

How apt!

YABU, the money has to come from somewhere to pay for all the bank bailouts.

Higher earners can afford more than lower earners to lose a percentage of their pay.

If I was in that tax bracket, then yes I would be pissed off for about ten seconds, but as I believe that we need to pay taxes in order to have essential services and support those less fortunate then I would put up with it.

Obviously subject to exceptions and life circ.s, but at the end of the day, most people choose the job that they are in. So, if you're pissed off with someone who is as intelligent as you but earning more, surely you should be more angry at yourself for not going into the same career as them, rather than angry at them for making that choice? And, at the end of the day, you never know everything that's going on. When people make career choices, if they do it intelligently, they should take into account EVERYTHING: pay, amount of leave, quality of life and so on, and learn to live with their decision.
This is a touchy subject for me, as I get a lot of crap from family members for having a degree and a good job. They seem to (conveniently) forget all the crap that I went through to get my qualifications and job; all the financial, emotional, and social sacrifices (e.g. while they spent their teens off their faces on cider, I was studying like a maniac) that I made to get where I am.

Ooh, bloody good point by the DreadPirate.

To be honest, the thought of a 51 per cent rate makes me want to crack open the Asti Spumante. Just a shame it's taken Labour 12 frickin years to get around to it.

If they keep up the action on tax evasion and avoidance at the same time, some people might actually end up paying the top rate of tax as well. Heavens to betsy!

Aren't you only taxed at 50% on a certain percentage of the income? i.e not all of it?

Why thank you PW [curtsey]

I've found 2 mins to post between school pick up and ballet so have only skim read latest posts...

Someone said I've tried to get sympathy for huge mortgage, 2 cars etc.. All I said was that we still have a mortgage (to show DH hasn't been earning a lot of money for very long) If you saw my house you wouldn't think DH earns what he does. It is nice, but not lavish. Haven't talked about how many cars we have (2, but not new, I only passed my driving test a year ago, we're not into machines apart from our aga!)

I DO NOT expect sympathy. I have a nice life - not without its problems, like any life, but certainly no financial problems which I know are horrible. (My Parents lost their home and business in last recession. Being able to help them out now gives me more happiness than anything in my life, apart from my love for DH and DC.)

Some people seem to agree with me, others (more) seem to think I should piss off to HK. (But NOT to Swiss or Singapore, I would get very bored very fast in either). No one (unless I've missed it) has really told me I'm unreasonable for thinking of leaving because of high taxes/not getting much from public services, you just want us out of the country as quick as possible!

p.s.
Can you all hate me for a few months but then be nice when I post a birth announcement in June?! I'm very thick skinned apart from when I've just had a baby?!

beanie only at 50% or (51% including national insurance) on amounts earned over £150,000, so if you earn £200,000 you will pay £5k more tax (the difference between £50,000 at 41% and £50,000 at 51%) than under the current system where the top rate is 40%

what I mean don't you get the first £150,000 at the same tax rate as everyone else and only the extra (Over £150,000) will be taxed at 51%? So you won't be losing half your salary at all.

I never get pissed off with people earning more than me. I do get pissed off with people whinging about paying a similar amount of tax to most other countries and acting like they're being fleeced beyond all recognition.

yup that's exactly it beanie - it will be nowhere near 50% of your income in tax

It is your choice not 'to get much from public services'. I have yet to meet a consultant who doesn't think you would be better off on the NHS for emergency treatment. I wouldn't say you are unreasonable to leave because the choice of whether you stay or go is up to you. Hope you find the some openness and choice in HK. I assume you've been there since the handback?

Hedgiemum - I do think you're YABU, especially if you've ever had a passing thought that we should clamp down on economic migrants coming into this country - because if you go to HK, that's what you'll all be...

tony I am not sure whether you are saying that high earners should accept it gracefully as they would have known their earnings would be subject to high and potentially changable taxation levels or not?

And knew my last post would get loads of people going. Of course not everyone who earns more than £150K is a banker. But from threads on here and people I know in RL it is the bankers and other finanical sector workers (who all benefitted from the massive overlending culture which got us into this) who shout the loudest when they are asked to give anything back...

As kew pointed out on the first page, if you earn 200k, you're going to be paying 5k more in tax a year. Hardly the ball-busting sum that's going to throw you into penury and mean Jemima will have to go to nasty state school. May have to cut back on your Jimmy Choos

If all of the 1% of the population who earn over £150,000 a year left to go and live in some tax haven, would it reall be a big deal?

This is how income tax works. For example, you earn £200,000.

1. you don't pay tax on the first £6035 (so, the calculation is then based on £193, 965)

Then, you pay 10% on the first £2,230. Then, the next £2231 to £34,600 is taxed at 22%. then, anything earned over £34,600 to £150,000 will be taxed at 40%, and anything above that at 50%. So, for the person earning £200,000, they will pay about £3,000 in tax.

psst bleh - you missed a zero