Does earning more than £60k a year make you rich especially in London?

[Payinglotsoftax]

Labour has said that as part of their manifesto they will target earners over £60k for higher taxes. My personal view is that Jeremy Corbyn targeting those earning more than £60k a year will target some families without a high standard of living particularly in London and the south east. AIBU?

[BeyondThePage]

£70K is 3 times the AVERAGE wage - and in the top 5% of earners across the UK - so yes I think it labels you as "rich"

Lifestyle choices are what make people not feel rich on that sort of salary.

[Crumbs1]

It depends on who you're comparing it with, how many outgoings you have, dependents and housing costs. I'd certainly have struggled if we only had 60K as our household income. Of course there are people who are worse off but there is a difference between above poverty level and wealthy.

[MiltopMighty]

Well, thank you 5moreminutes
At least I'm an equanamous hypocrite.

That must count for something.

[reup]

I live in London and our joint income is much less than that - I'd feel really rich on that amount. I've recently been job hunting and all the jobs are 20,000 pa ish and I'm a graduate. We did buy our house a decade ago though and the mortgage is comparatively low.

[5moreminutes]

Miltop would you object to a tax hike if disability benefit was brought up to respectable levels and the grammar school plans were scrapped and the money was ploughed into the NHS ... Or whatever you feel would make society more equal?

[MsJuniper]

The average UK salary is £27k and in London is £34k so our household income is bang on average for 2 people working FT in London (in fact DH earns £6k more than avg and I earn £6k less). If either of us individually earned £70k, then we'd definitely feel much richer!

We are both broadly in favour of high taxation and well-funded public services so this policy would not put either of us off voting Labour.

[smilingsarahb]

To me rich is about financial security combined with an above average standard of living.(housing, food, transport, clothes, entertainment) So someone with a high salary that all goes on commute, housing and childcare costs wouldn't be as rich as someone with no mortgage, no childcare costs and a much smaller income and some savings. Income is really only part of wealth and it's a bit misleading to focus on it. Most of the really wealthy have land and other assets which are very under taxed compared to salary which people get of their bottoms and earn

[Whatthefoxgoingon]

I agree that wealth doesn't have a lot to do with income, more to do with assets. People with low income but millions in London property assets are still wealthy imho.

[DropDeadNed]

If someone earns more than you its likely they have a job with years of training under their belt, more responsibility, less flexibility, need to be available all the time and work far more hours than you do. Working under these conditions isn't for everyone but don't moan at someone because they do work under these conditions and get paid accordingly for 

What absolute bollocks. Carers, people on zero hour contracts, have to be available at a moments notice, often have high responsibility jobs (such as caring!), work a lot of hours and don't earn £70k.

[theresamustgo]

I am in London on 66k and yes I think that makes me fairly rich.

[GwenQuinn]

I'm Sorry but moaning about the 'squeezed middle' really pisses me off, it's not a thing. If your strapped for cash on 60k I'm pretty sure you could make some changes to your outgoings if you bothered.

Having said that, the super rich should pick up the slack before anyone else.

[5moreminutes]

Wealth doesn't have a lot to do with hard work either. Some people work incredibly hard and earn a lot, some people work incredibly hard and earn a modest wage or a pittance, some people barely work and earn a lot in a job created for them in a family business or in rental income or a wage paid for doing nothing to allow their spouse to claim tax breaks...

[NameChanger22]

Most people I know earn less than 16k.

60k is rich. I'm sure some people can't manage on it because they don't know how to manage money well.

[MiltopMighty]

5moreminutes no, I would not object to paying more taxes if I knew it wasn't going to those places that you mention (and more - I feel especially that carers for disabled folks should receive more, affordable heating for elderly, free University tuition, target childhood poverty, education, the NHS, redevelopment in deprived areas, etc.

I agree, dropdead there are millions of people in stressful demanding jobs who are not paid even a living wage.

[Violetcharlotte]

Depends on your circumstances really - a single person would be pretty comfortable anywhere on £60k, a couple with 2 kids would manage in London or the SE but wouldn't be well off if they had a big mortgage, rent or nursery fees to pay.

[Ktown]

One might be 'rich' but there isn't much chance of buying a house on that in zones 1 or 2.
Depressing as it is it won't get you much property.
The wealthy in central London are properly rich, in my limited experience.

[MiltopMighty]

Sorry I meant it was going to those places

[Violetcharlotte]

However I wouldn't mind paying more tax if I was guaranteed it was going to be used to improve out NHS, schools and other public services.

[surferjet]

60k really isn't that high for mortgage paying London families.

[EpoxyResin]

It's funny, you go on a thread where someone's just had their benefits cut and everyone's telling them they'll have move because they can no longer afford their house, or to live near their families, or near their kids' school, and that's just tough. But tell a bunch of high-earners you think they should be taxed more and they say they can't afford it because of what their houses cost. Well if it turns out high-earners SHOULD be paying more tax (as they do elsewhere), don't you all just have to live in more affordable houses??

[soapboxqueen]

I think the subjective 'rich' isn't super helpful. Rich is generally just more than we personally have unless you have a yacht.

I also think a single person on 60k is a different from a two parent family with a single earner.

Just using a tax calculator quickly,

A single earner household A at 60k would earn the same after tax as a two worker household B on 26.5k each. Though B can also claim child benefit etc which A couldn't.

If you think two earners at 26.5k are rich that's fair enough but I don't think many would. Comfortable maybe, but not rich. So should single earner families at 60k feel rich if take home pay is the same?

[histinyhandsarefrozen]

Call to increase tax on workers on 70 k all you like- labour really ought to come up with something a bit more creative- I'm surprised people are satisfied with the same old, same old rhetoric- this isn't going to win labour the votes they need.

[MeganChips]

It comes down to disposable income doesn't it. If you are paying extortionate amounts of rent and childcare and have nothing left you are never going to feel rich, despite what the stats say.

Someone on 60k could have far less disposable income than someone on 30 depending on their circumstances. It doesn't make the higher earner whingey to point that out. Of course people can make different choices such as school fees but often people are tied to certain locations.

I earn 60k, we are a 100k household and I absolutely do feel well off. I feel lucky. We don't live in London though and are no longer paying nursery fees that were more than our mortgage.

[AllllGooone]

He's not only talking about London, though is he?!! Why do these conversations always turn to OMG I LIVE IN LONDON I'm poor!

People just despise Corbyn because he's coming for the rich and making them feel unsettled because they "work hard" whereas people on minimum wage don't, apparently.