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.

https://www.leapsonline.org/

This is a great site and does help those from under represented groups get a place at university in Scotland. Hopefully more projects like this will help those who would otherwise not get a place.

The problem is that those paying the tax do not get any benefit, their children are disadvantaged by quotas. We should absolutely be helping children from disadvantaged backgrounds but not to the exclusion of children who don't have that SIMD postcode etc. I absolutely think we are at the tipping point where people will leave - you may as well be in England and have the option of paying for fees or take a loan to pay the fees.

There are also statements that we pay lower council tax - no we bloody don't, my council tax is horrendous. And moving is difficult because of the ridiculously high LBTT.

The stats for entry for Edinburgh Uni clearly show that you have a much better chance of entry if you are English/international that if you are Scottish - if you come from a 'privileged' back ground you have no chances in some course. I know some that have been rejected with straight As at higher and AH.

The narrative is those with broad shoulders can pay a bit more - well its not a bit more - it's a lot more.

As a pp poster said we should be looking to make Scotland a place where we have high paying jobs - not the predominately low wage scenario were have now with a minority carrying the rest. I don't want free prescriptions, baby boxes for all, the MSP gravy train, cycle lanes, to pay for final salary pensions in the public sector when everyone else has been thrown onto the money purchase heep. I want good eduction for all, not the curriculum for excellence, targeted help to life people out of property - not remain on if for life, with protections for the disabled. Not the shit show excuse of a system we have now.

So let me get this right, I'm supposed to be happy to pay extra in tax for free tuition that my children might not get? Fuck that.

Between me and DH we'll be paying enough extra tax to cover at least a year's English uni fees per year. Why the fuck would we stay in Scotland if our DC don't manage to get free places? And then pay the uni fees on top? How fucking stupid would that be? Fuck. That.

There are also statements that we pay lower council tax - no we bloody don't, my council tax is horrendous. And moving is difficult because of the ridiculously high LBTT.

This is the one claim that really angers me. My house is banded as E. When lived in England, my house was banded as C, and it was worth nearly 100% more. It's such dishonestly, claim council tax is cheaper but then stick everything in massively more expensive bandings.

And don't get me started on the LBTT. The 10% rate kicks in at anything above 325K, in England you have to spend almost a million quid to hit the 10% band. It's not like properties in many parts of Scotland are that much cheaper to justify that difference either. In fact parts of England are cheaper than parts of Scotland,and they still benefit from the much lower stamp duty.

You know, you can get away with it in Iceland, or New Zealand, or some other island nation where the next nearest neighbour is a flight away. People grumble but really have to stay unless they want a whole new life in a whole new country, and meet the immigration of that country.

There is nothing stopping ANYONE living in Scotland upping sticks and going to England or Wales or Northern Ireland. With remote working, you could EASILY live somewhere in Northumberland, catch the train into the Edinburgh office from Alnmouth which takes an hour and 5 minutes on a fast train. Or if you're fully remote you could live anywhere. This fact does not seem to have penetrated the thick SNP minds that - you know - people might just fuck off out of Scotland and take their tax with them.

Same as during Covid, Sturgeon could not get it through her skull why on earth anyone would prefer a week in Magaluf to a week in Millport.

The Welsh have a far better system for supporting under privileged backgrounds they give a living cost grants which dont have to be repaid and take money off student loan amount and also have widening participation so that there is opportunity.

Unfortunately Scotland doesn't see having 100% in some places for courses as on a scale index means that they push others out and therefore those go elsewhere (rUK or abroad) and then less likely to return to be another tax payer!

People do vote with their feet indeed......3 colleagues have put in requests for a transfer to a English office this week!

Yeah we were locking at properties round there online today. DS only has another year at school and then we're off.

We could buy a flag in Edinburgh in DS's name and do 2 days per week in the office. Then the rest from England.

Northumberland is lovely. We had a week in Alnwick in October and both agreed we could happily live there.

this latest budget really does seem to be the straw that has broken the camels back. Damn right we’ll be chucking money in our pensions instead of paying more tax. As a result we will be paying far less tax in 2024-25 than we do in 2023-24 and we won’t be the only ones. Will the overall tax take drop rather than rise? It wouldn’t surprise me.

the answer to the uni question is obvious - charge - then Scot’s at least have as much of a chance of getting into their local uni as those from the other end of England - and funnel money into the Scot’s needy. It’s not hard.

And as for the prescriptions, dentistry, Bridge tolls blah blah blah, I am more than happy to pay for these and have a deduction in tax. At least then we get something for money, rather than just seeing endless tax disappearing into a black hole.

I always assumed the LBTT was a big f-you to those living in Edinburgh who are on the whole much too intelligent to fall for their Indy nonsense. But the whole budget feels like an f-you too to those earning high salaries. Mistake, SNP, big mistake.

Agree with above posters, free uni policy should be changed, means tested bursaries would be much more sensible. Entry to uni should be based on meritocracy with some reasonable adjustments in place for e.g. young carers etc.

Also, universal freebies like prescriptions, baby box, bus travel for the young and old should be scrapped and be administered in a means based basis only. And all Scot Gov spend on matters actually handled by the UK government, like foreign policy, should really be called out as excessive, unnecessary and frankly a misappropriation of public finds. And pouring money into things like funding Prestwick airport should go.

And as a commuter crossing the Queensferry crossing, I'd welcome the bridge tolls back, might be good for congestion and environment too through driving some behavioural change.

None of above will change though as the public loooooove a freebie. Only they don't realise there are no freebies.

It’s the waste of money on ridiculous white papers too. The UK government has said there will be no referendum so there will be no referendum. Humza’s plan to at t he’ll just declare UDI if they get a majority of MPs in the next election would appear to be illegal. It’s just burning money. And the UK government requesting legal costs for the failed GRR - that only happens really at a government level when the appellant brings a case so poor it is seen as vexatious. What a criminal waste of money.

I'll be moving soon anyway (divorce) I work in the office 1 day a week but they are pretty reasonable and also have offices in 4 locations in England anyway.

DC are no longer in school. Eldest will need to come with me for a while anyway as his autism issues mean he will find it hard to live independently without support.

I was brought up in poverty but have worked and paid tax since I was 16. I've supported and raised my DC and put them through uni. Apart from child benefit we've had no support. DH stayed at home when DC were small but worked when he could and didn't claim anything.

I've paid 41 years NI but still have another 20 years until pension.

This new tax rise doesn't directly affect me but I will be impacted if we get a pay rise as that will take me further into the rate that starts about £42k as the threshold has been frozen.

It's the principle now. I'm fed up doing my best for society and my family and just watching them piss the money away on shite.

So yes, currently looking at properties south of the border and in the end I don't care if I'm worse if financially as I'll not be living and contributing to this band of crooks.

Another contemplating hopping the border; we can't do it immediately as we have one DC in secondary who we'd be reluctant to move but the age gap between our kids means we could go after they finish and the younger one would not have started high school yet. I only have to be in my office occasionally, so the cost of travelling up from time to time wouldn't make much of a dent in the savings. I know quite a few others in my office seriously considering similar moves.

We'll probably end up paying for our kids to go to uni in England anyway - eldest wants to study law which seems to be one of the worst hit by the quota issues. I think allowing universities to operate properly, charge fees to those who can afford it and focus support on those who can't would be far more useful.

I think I mentioned previously but a handful of my colleagues in a relatively small Edinburgh office have moved to berwick upon tweed. They get the express london train in a couple of times a week.

@Vettrianofan i actually attended the LEAPs summer school that you linked quite a few years ago. I agree with you that those from disadvantaged backgrounds or children whose families have little experience of higher education should be encouraged and supported in getting to university if they want to go however, it should not be done at the expense of families who have a bit more money or children whose parents went to uni. Most of the children from families with decent earning power will have parents who went to university and thats how they have what they have. The opportunity for university should be equal, whether a family can afford it or not. Allowing wealthy families to pay and poorer families to claim burseries/pay reduced rates/qualify for free tuition would be a progressive policy. Saying the deprived can attend but your average middle class family cant is not progressive nor does it create equal opportunity, its discrimination.

@Vettrianofan i got into leaps school because my parents had low income and had not attended university themselves. I was first in my family to go. My parents still live in their council house and mum works at the supermarket. My husband is from a similar background - together we now earn around £160k.

Our children dont have endless opportunities. We are not part of any upper class old boys club with years of generational wealth, we are normal people who are working hard at climbing the career ladder. I assume thats what you want for your nephew too?

Like you, i want my children's life to be a little easier than mine. I can do that for them growing up, they can join clubs, learn to play the cello and go on holiday every year. But because my children are not growing up in a deprived post code and they attend a private school, you think that your nephew is more deserving of a university place?

In the USA the ivy league universities are hugely expensive but if you cant afford to pay, there is funding available. We should have the same system and places allocated on merit. With your views, your nephew might get a foot up into university but if he works hard and does well, his kids will be like mine, they risk not getting into university because their dad tried to hard for them. What sort of message does that send?!

I cannot understand why anyone would support a policy that effectively penalises people for doing well. The SNP policies on tax and free education basically encourage me to go to uni and then head back to the council estate i came from. Its a tick box exercise, for whatever reason they believe the creation of wealth is evil - although Humza Yousef is happy to take a salary greater than the Prime Ministers and the Housing Minister can afford to pay an £11k phone bill so they are really just laughing at their hypocrisy from their ivory towers.

there is an increasing issue with the fact that most people in politics now have never worked in the private sector - particularly true of labour and the snp politicians. Another thing that needs discussing in this whole debate

@BYDboard YES!!!! When everyone was striking for their inflationary pay rises in the public secter, I got a 2% rise last year and had to lump it - and no defined benefit pension scheme either. Im not saying its easy working in the public sector but they dont have a clue about private.

And as per my pp, my childs nursery is going up 17% next year because the nursery needs to make ends meet and the minimum wage keeps rising, utilities keep rising etc etc. They dont have a money tree.

Unlike a lot of these politicians who have reached their lifetime best possible earnings by getting elected for the most part…

Very few people will leave because of this tax rise.

A lot of complaining and mouthing off but fundamentally the extra paid is not worth uprooting your life for, especially if you have a family.

There are a lot more benefits of living in Scotland that more than make up for it.

No Uni fees for a start.

Also fed up hearing about all this ferry pish as if it’s the main crime in the world at the moment.

Yes, a ferry contract was messed up and cost a lot of money.

But in the grand scheme of things it’s not that big a deal.

The UK Gov wasted more on Michelle Mone.

Then all the corruption, handing out Knighthoods, deliberately shorting the country through Brexit etc..

Yes, the SNP haven’t been the most competent in many things but any corruption fades into utter insignificance compared to the UK lot.

A lot of the comments here just sound like pure snobbery, if anybody really believes the SNP are trying to punish Edinburgh because ‘people from Edinburgh are too clever’ then really could you please attempt to extract your head from your own cervix at one point.

Politicians here are shit, politicians in England are shit, if you honestly feel that leaving the country because you’re paying a bit extra tax is worth it then fair play, don’t make a show of yourself over it just go.

Very few people in the country earn enough to be highly affected.

Is that you Nicola?

“No Uni fees for a start”

Tell us you’ve not read most of the arguments without telling us you’ve not read most of the arguments.

Lots of nhs consultants will be affected by the tax hike. I reckon most will just l
cut their hours and work less. Causing Scotland further health issues

The bleating from junior doctors that their pay has sunk massively on real terms is so tin eared. No one is on a real terms same pay as 20 years ago! No one! What makes them so special???

After the financial crash no one in my firm had any pay rise whatsoever for 4 years. We on the whole kept our jobs though which meant we were far better off than rival firms. Come live in the real world where no one talks of spine points or inflationary wage rises..

After the financial crash no one in my firm had any pay rise whatsoever for 4 years

Yes, exactly. Not to sound all Four Yorkshiremen but DH and his colleagues were given 5% paycuts to try and keep the branch open. My company avoided going under by the skin of its teeth. We were so grateful that we'd got through that time period without one if us losing our jobs, many really suffered.