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Original poster

Higher taxes incoming on Tueaday

338 replies

Choosychoice · 14/12/2023 18:46

If you earn £100-£125k you currently pay income tax at a marginal rate of 63%. This isn’t enough for the SNP who next Tuesday are increasing it to 65%. 🤯 in what world is this a reasonable thing to do, when money is being wasted left right and centre by these imbeciles on embassies with no political purpose, ferry contracts so bad we pay 10 x the going rate, and a department for constitutional affairs who’s whole purpose is outwith the devolution agreement. We’ve just spent millions trying to get the GRR past section 35 when the case was so weak it took 46 seconds for the judge to throw it out and rUK are (quite rightly) considering asking for the Scottish government to pay their costs.

I don’t mind paying more taxes for the child poverty measures, but raising taxes to allow these fiscally incontinent 5 year olds to waste again and again and again is farcical.

OP posts:
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BigBoysDontCry · 14/12/2023 19:03

I'm not in that bracket but I thoroughly agree. We aren't paying more in Scotland for fairness, we are paying more for the SNP to piss up the wall on incompetence and their pet policies.

Ineedaholiday23 · 14/12/2023 19:29

I feel so so sorry for those earning £125,000.

Baghelpplease · 14/12/2023 19:33

Is the 46 seconds true or hyperbole? I mean it should have taken 46 seconds, utter pish that it was. But just wondering.

Original poster
Choosychoice · 14/12/2023 19:49

I know envy is the first though of those not earning enough to be affected, but you might like to consider it is high earners like these who pay the type of income tax that makes a difference to the lives of other Scots. You can’t just look to them every single time you have to fill your (all too predictable) budget black hole. And if taxes have to go up, why not taxes across the board? Was it not thought that the higher rate was high enough beforehand? Was 63% too little?

OP posts:
CoatOfArms · 14/12/2023 19:53

Well they've got to find the cash for streaming the football in Morocco from somewhere. 🙄

Original poster
Choosychoice · 14/12/2023 20:20

CoatOfArms · 14/12/2023 19:53

Well they've got to find the cash for streaming the football in Morocco from somewhere. 🙄

It didn’t surprise me at all to hear he had done this. No other member of the public would be as stupid as to run up massive bills overseas. No other member of the public would be as corrupt as to put it through expenses. No other member of the public would be as crass as to blame their kids publicly. No other member of the public would be so profligate with public funds. But an SNP MSP greedy, corrupt, frittering public money away, throwing his kids under a bus to save his skin? Yup. The only sort of people cretinous to do this sort of thing. Vile!

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SisterMichaelsHabit · 14/12/2023 20:30

They're doing WHAT now? Fecking hell, if you were getting a Norway-esque complete public service for it, that would be different, but you're not getting anything for that money! 65%! What glue are they on??? Are they just trying to push out high earners?
The more I see about the SNP lately, the more glad I am that I didn't return to Scotland after I moved away in my twenties. I keep considering moving back but then more shit like this comes out.

Whatevershallidowithmylife · 14/12/2023 20:32

I'll never be in that bracket but it's absolutely ridiculous as it us never mind increasing it!

pharmachameleon · 14/12/2023 20:52

This will filter down to the lower tax brackets in time I'm afraid.
What high earner will want to stay in Scotland now?

BigBoysDontCry · 14/12/2023 21:19

Give that a lot of jobs in that bracket can be done from anywhere, if it was me, I'd be moving over the border. So instead of increased income, they'd end up with less.

The proportion of the population who pay tax is already not great.

Original poster
Choosychoice · 14/12/2023 22:04

BigBoysDontCry · 14/12/2023 21:19

Give that a lot of jobs in that bracket can be done from anywhere, if it was me, I'd be moving over the border. So instead of increased income, they'd end up with less.

The proportion of the population who pay tax is already not great.

My partner and I are both affected. We like Scotland, most of our family are from here but we were both born in Northern Ireland and see ourselves as British. Like many professional services workers our jobs can be fully remote and we are thinking of joining friends in Newcastle.

It’s not the little bit more of tax this time, it’s the next little bit more of tax and the next little bit more of tax. There seems to be no concept of us paying enough tax at any point. Services are no better here than in England, and in many areas much much worse, yet we pay through the nose for our terrible services. It’s so galling. We’ve had enough.

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FrostieBoabby · 14/12/2023 22:07

It's ridiculous that anyone with a half decent job pays more tax than those south of the border with no signs of us a higher standard of living up here.

How the s.government expect us to keep those in highly paid jobs totally puzzles me. One day we'll have no Consultants left in our hospitals as they'll have headed off to other countries.

Original poster
Choosychoice · 14/12/2023 22:11

It’s not just that, who would choose to set up a skilled, highly paid business here when they know they are reducing their potential recruitment pool by those that baulk at the tax rates?

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Scottishskifun · 14/12/2023 23:24

It's the short term sightedness that gets me with stuff like this. They are struggling to fill highly specialist consultants positions as it is. They have been warned it will leave a void as less people pay for those positions. This isn't a poor rich people scenario it's a public services will likely suffer as a result. Frankly they piss money up the wall then cry Westminster!

I'm not ever going to be in this tax bracket but they are naive if they think the tax difference isn't causing issues already.

apples24 · 15/12/2023 06:03

Just wow. Also not in this bracket but absolutely raging. They'll probably piss the money away on some tokenistic vanity project anyway. Maybe more D&I leaflets or lanyards.

The "little bit more" tax ten times over eventually ends up being a lot more.

Dentistlakes · 15/12/2023 06:14

Not in this bracket either, but the SNP are an absolute shit show. People will just leave Scotland to avoid the higher taxes.

treadingonlego · 15/12/2023 08:27

Ineedaholiday23 · 14/12/2023 19:29

I feel so so sorry for those earning £125,000.

  • and this will be exactly the response that the SNP anticipated. They'll rely on people thinking 'fuck 'em, probably Tories' and not thinking through what the effect of multiple high earners leaving and going to rUK will be. And that's not just in loss of taxes, but loss of professional skills. The SNP are absolutely ruining this country, but still people will keep voting for them based on ideologies.
Menopants · 15/12/2023 08:34

Is it really 63%? I thought it was 47% and only on the earnings above 125.

Original poster
Choosychoice · 15/12/2023 09:21

Menopants · 15/12/2023 08:34

Is it really 63%? I thought it was 47% and only on the earnings above 125.

It is currently 42% and will be 44% from £75-125k, but when you go over by £100k you lose your bill rate band, with the effect of increasing your tax rate to 63% and following this budget 65%. Then when you get to £125k the marginal tax rate goes back down to 47% as your bio rate band is completely used up.

The SNP doesn’t have the powers to correct the marginal tax rate farce, but they do have the powers to acknowledge those earning £100-£125k are already being absolutely hammered and not add more tax. I just thing this level of understanding is totally beyond them. If you want to increase tax take in a meaningful way start doing what they do in Scandinavia and put 2% on basic rate tax, then everyone pays more and the increased tax take is much larger.

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Original poster
Choosychoice · 15/12/2023 09:22

NIL rate band! Not bill rate band!

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Menopants · 15/12/2023 09:48

If you earn 125000 overall you pay 36% tax on your income. If you earn 150000 it is 46%. The 67% doesn’t make sense to me. The lose of the tax free band also applies in England.

there is a massive hole on public spending and while I agree snp are not fiscal geniuses by any means I don’t think this will cause a massive brain drain

WenttheDayWell · 15/12/2023 09:55

I have never earned that much though our household overall between us has and continues to have a decent income. I would be moving South of the border and I don’t blame you. I mean you will still be paying a fair whack here but whilst currently you have sympathy from other posters you may find this thread gets quite a bit of sarcasm.

BYDboard · 15/12/2023 10:10

Regardless of the personal impact - do we think this is going to solve the budget deficit, and councils facing bankruptcy? The SNP aren’t fiscal geniuses - no, not even fiscally competent and Kate Forbes is the only one that seems to have a glimpse of a clue on this…

BYDboard · 15/12/2023 10:13

‘“Of course, the deputy first minister may choose to use powers over income tax to raise more revenue to plug this gap but it is unlikely that this would be sufficient in isolation.”’

and that’s the problem - the budget crisis isn’t solved by this.