Higher taxes incoming on Tueaday

[Choosychoice]

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.

I will put additional money to my pension
No way I am giving them any more money to waste

I am NHS, don’t earn this amount, but partner will be impacted. I deeply resent paying for these incompetents in Holyrood. Devolution is a shambles, we are being taxed to pay for the gravy train these losers are on, with nothing to show for it. Funding one government in Westminster is enough! The Scottish government is living beyond its means and now plans to rob the Scottish tax payers again to pay for its failures, but it won’t be anywhere near enough. The worst thing that has happened to Scotland is the money wasting Holyrood parliament. Closely followed by giving these fiscally incompetent robbers the ability to enforce higher taxation levels on residents of Scotland, over other areas of UK. This will not be the end of it, these miscreants will come back for more and more.

i have paid tax in Scotland for 34 years. I saw friends from Newcastle today and discussed this issue. We are seriously considering moving to Northumberland, our jobs are fully remote. I know the usual response is “F…k off then” from the SNP supporters, but there are not enough higher rate tax payers in Scotland to fund the series of financial cock ups that have come from SNP govt. They are robbing the higher rate tax payers now, but it will be everyone soon. A PP said anyone earning over 28k in Scotland is paying more tax than in England? If this is true it is a disgrace, it’s not even the average annual salary.

I am sure the SNP sheep will be on soon to say, what about free HE? I consider this to be an unnecessary advantage to those going to uni. If you don’t go to university, what benefit is this? Why are the non uni going public funding others free HE?

I work in a private sector company and I have not seen any SNP ministers (MPs or MSPs) that would get a job at my work. They are all too thick. The ones with crazily coloured hair or who speak in some hammed-up version of a Broons character would get laughed out of the door. No shame, no dignity, no gravitas, no sign of intelligent life. Kate Forbes might get a job as a trainee accountant I suppose. And they run our country. It’s baffling.

Same @Choosychoice I also work for a private (global) company and I couldn't see anyone in the SG that would stand a chance of getting a senior or even middle managment position in it. And don't get me started on the Greens and their complete lack of any comprehension of even basic biology, not just Maggie Chapman's gender waffle.
Comment by Gillian Bowditch in the Times today:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/aa981abc-1f09-418f-af7e-688272859e36?shareToken=fa582025713567f60cfa001c7d2af0a0

The ones with crazily coloured hair or who speak in some hammed-up version of a Broons character

That'd be Angela Constance then...

I can't agree more with PPs and that article is good.

I also work for a private global company and I am regularly involved in recruitment. I wouldn't employ any of them even in junior positions and not because I disagree with their politics.

‘The black hole in Scotland’s finances is £1.5 billion — so just another £1.459 billion to find, then’

This is simply what the SNP believe is a good soundbite: populist, popular doubtless except for the small number paying, newspaper articles on tax get more mileage than those on crises in public spending: an effective distraction from the huge cuts coming to services ‘in Scotland, those that can pay more, are paying more’ etc. etc.

People need a far better understanding of numbers so that they’re not taken in again and again by the way things sound.

As pointed out in above diagram the alarming amount of people who don’t pay tax in Scotland as opposed to those that do . If as above commentators who have articulated so well it was well spent which should be easy in a country with a small population with more money per head than rest of UK higher tax payers would accept it but funding the fiscally illiterate SNP is utterly depressing . Agree with another comment that SNP don’t even acknowledge how poor their financial decisions are . Did you all see Penny Mordaunts 12 days of the SNP ? Priceless and will cheer you up momentarily.

This is the danger of the tax cycle

Hit higher payers for political points, tax receipts go down as people move or change behaviour

Services cut

I dread similar if we manage to drive out higher earners across U.K., not even Scotland will get higher per head then

Most people don't WANT to understand. The basic level of understanding of tax and economics is so, so low. Like when inflation started falling - people couldn't get it through their heads that meant that prices were just rising a bit more slowly, not coming down. Or the whole Alex Salmond thing about using the pound and writing off Scotland's share of the UK debt - look how many of the faithful lapped that up as absolute gospel. All the majority will see is the headline of "rich people pay more tax" and think good, the super rich should be paying more. They will give not one second's thought about whether that's a good thing or will make a blind bit of difference.

To be fair, I don't think Scotland is unique in having a lot of financially illiterate people. There are just as many in other parts of the UK.

Oh absolutely - the general level of understanding of tax and spend (or any other numbers) in the uk as a whole, and amongst most journalists, is appalling.

Completely agree with the above. I think its easy in Scotland for the SNP supporters to say 'oh those high earners can afford it' but earning £43k doesnt make you a high earner and thats when higher rate tax kicks in. Everyone above £28k as pp said is paying more tax than across the border. I read recently that full time min wage is now around £25k so pretty much everyone in full time employment is affected.

45% tax for income over £75k!!!
I work in healthcare and was already considering dropping my hours due to the conditions in the Nhs at the moment and this has been the nail in the coffin

Is it too much to hope that this starts a real debate and scrutiny of the SNP’s mismanagement? Sigh.

The bit of all of this that I find really appalling is not raising the £43k band in line with inflation. A single income household on £45k must be super wealthy and be oblivious to inflationary rises in the cost of living. I work for an English based company so earn almost £2k less net than they think they pay me. I don't blame those who genuinely are well off and in the £75k+ brackets finding ways to offset tax either or leaving when they see the sheer numbers of working age adults paying none.

When you compare how much extra money you could get in the rest of the uk for bumwtter public services it’s truly sickening.

Better!!!

Does anyone know what makes up the huge volume of adults who don't pay any income tax? Must include students, assume pensioners too?

I'm genuinely struggling to see any benefit to devolution now. More tax for no more actual public services, and having to suffer the dafter notions of the Greens that have found themselves in such a position of power despite barely anyone voting for them.
It's like living in a country being run by a student council.

@apples24 Actually, a number of pensioners do pay tax, if they have private pensions topping up their state pension; it’s less likely, but it’s possible some students do too, if they are working.
Those not paying taxes could be people of allages working part time at minimum or low hourly rates; those unable to work at all who may be on PIP or other benefits; the unemployed; and those, very few, who are able to organise their affairs to live off dividends, for example.
The SNP have never once displayed an understanding of their own economy and its drivers.
on the plus side, that’s probably lost them some more votes

Here, in case anyone wants to read Alex Massie's take on today's budget:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/f9d26a88-b230-4422-b8fb-20768fa3103f?shareToken=9ac9e1c29fad87bf04a15c150fdfaa94

The deputy first minister and her subordinates are so far
out of their depth it’s terrifying .Devolution has truly not worked .

For those of us in England - this is what'll happen if Labour get in!

So we will be affected by this as my husband earns within this bracket. My best friend also affected as he earns well too. In my highly scientific sample of 2, 100% of respondents are now maxing out pensions, reducing hours and/or moving. If this is replicated, Scotland has just shot itself in the foot.

Absolute nonsense without raising the 42% band in line with England. We are thousands out of pocket and it's the final straw. I'm a scot, born and bred, but the SNP are making our country so unappealing. If you're scottish, you're better off staying in low paid employment and enjoying all the top ups rather than pushing and succeeding.

I'm not in the band but maybe in future. Will either increase pension pot or cur down to 4 days a week and that 114,000 people will come down pretty quickly as others do the same!

Again I don't think people would mind if there was amazing public services but frankly their isn't. My friends in England are all shocked at some of the state of things as apparently NHS Scotland is always paraded as amazing......