[Closed] Income Tax. Beginning to feel like working isn't worth it any more

Here's the study that looked at the "culture of worklessness": http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/cultures-of-worklessness

... ok can't resist

Councils are mainly funded through central grant, council tax is a top up.

Education, NHS etc benefit society more widely. No education, no workforce etc.

Couple of links to a break down of the welfare budget for info -

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/jun/02/liberal-conservative-coalition-welfare

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2012/dec/04/government-spending-department-2011-12

Using first source, total of £87billion out of gov spending of c£700billion, for a comparison NHS over £100bn Of the £87billion a big chunk is working tax credits, child benfit, disability living allowance

... and the country is in the poo is because a unregulated market did what unregulated markets do - growth, fall, consolidate. Fault of (labour) govt yes, fault of tax regime - no

Just out of interest Dr s**** what do you actually do to earn your massive wedge ?

He works hard.

😉

Well not really.

Is any of my income tax spent supporting even one person who is unwilling to work and wants to live on benefits?

If (ha ha) the answer is Yes then my issue remains valid.

why dont you make a company and employ the unemployed?

So, by being a hard working person

Do you actually work any harder than say a nurse, fireman, teacher etc? What is your job? Can we decide on whether or not you actually re hard working? Because right now, you're [s]arguing[/s] discussing something on the internet, rather than doing whatever it is you do. Does your employer know this?

I'm sure I'll get some flaming for this

Well, if you will turn up to a gun fight armed only with a spoon... 😉

As I said, cherry pick the correct statistics and you can make it say whatever you want.

Good point. There's a good overview at http://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/4813 which sort of shows both sides.

(The OP may want to look at how people are changing their opinions based upon evidence.)

Do you actually work any harder than say a nurse, fireman, teacher etc? What is your job? Can we decide on whether or not you actually re hard working? Because right now, you're arguing discussing something on the internet, rather than doing whatever it is you do. Does your employer know this?

To be fair, I'm a teacher and am currently arguing on the internet 🙂

[i]If (ha ha) the answer is Yes then my issue remains valid.[/i]

Well, your issue (I think) was that your tax bill has increased, and it's being, as you see it, wasted on supporting people who refuse to work.

The amount of money spent on Jobseekers Allownace, as we've seen, is a small proportion of the DWP and the amount spent on 'undeserving' cases will be a tiny proportion of that. Also, the DWP budget is only a part of total government spend, and income from taxation is less than total government spend anyway (lets not go there...).

So, if we stopped paying to 'undeserving' Jobseekers, we'd be able to reduce your tax bill by a tiny proportion of a small proportion of a part of it's total.

I'd say that means you have a tiny proportion of a small proportion of a part of a valid issue.

Do you actually work any harder than say a nurse, fireman, teacher etc? What is your job? Can we decide on whether or not you actually re hard working? Because right now, you're arguing discussing something on the internet, rather than doing whatever it is you do. Does your employer know this?

It's my day off.....

And, READ, the original post. This is a discussion (not an argument) about taxation, not illiteracy.

I've no issue with supporting lower incomes people or families. And I clearly have no qualms with others working hard - why would I?

I get taxed. My taxes go up. I don't like how they are spent. Simple really.

I get taxed. My taxes go up. I don't [s]like[/s] [b]know[/b] how they are spent. Simple really.

FTFY

To be fair, I'm a teacher and am currently arguing on the internet

That's cheered me up. I hope it's not my tax pounds paying for you. Oh the irony 😉

My Grandfather had an answer for qustions like yours .....

Which situation would you rather be in ...

Pay lots of tax .... equates to lots of income in order to get large tax bill

or

pay little tax .... equates to little income in order to get low tax bill

He passed away over 30 years ago but still has a large impact on my life with his attitude to all sorts of things ...

and of interest I reckon he was still paying more tax then than I could think of today ....

Institute for fiscal studies - right wing think tank
Joseph Rowntree Foundation - left wing think tank

You pays your money you takes your choice.

But I can see several issues with the way the IFS use the data just through the summary eg partial way of measuring benefit from taxation etc.

But it's all grist to the mill, better to read the reports themselves than filtered through scaremongering headlines in the right/left leaning papers

Well not really.
Is any of my income tax spent supporting even one person who is unwilling to work and wants to live on benefits?
If (ha ha) the answer is Yes then my issue remains valid

Your OP shows though that you are massively aiming at the wrong target. Far more of your tax goes to subsidise the profits of large highly profitable companies that pay their workers a pittance. Maybe you should ask yourself why this bothers you much less.

That's cheered me up. I hope it's not my tax pounds paying for you. Oh the irony

Of course it's your tax money paying for me - a leftie like me wouldn't be in a private school. But, I'll be working on my days off for 'nothing' and don't earn enough to worry about higher rates of tax.

😉

It's my day off.....

Slacker. 😉

And, READ, the original post.

I did. Hence why I'm quoting bits back to you. 🙂

I've no issue with supporting lower incomes people or families. And I clearly have no qualms with others working hard

So what's your job then? Come on; we need to know in order to judge whether you do actually work as hard as you claim. Seeing as how you're judging others whose situations you know nothing about. It's only fair.

I get taxed. My taxes go up. I don't like how they are spent. Simple really.

Dry your eyes mate. I don't like many of the ways [u]our[/u]* taxes are spent; that's the way the cookie crumbles. Deal with it.

*Crucial detail, this bit.

Interestingly, what would you do with all that money you'd 'save' if your taxes weren't raised?

I get taxed. My taxes go up. I don't like how they are spent. Simple really.

you do not have enough facts to decide weather you like how they are being spent. technically you and all of us should be taxed more. after all we spend more than our tax income

Of course it's your tax money paying for me - a leftie like me wouldn't be in a private school. But, I'll be working on my days off for 'nothing' and don't earn enough to worry about higher rates of tax.

I regularly work weekends, evenings etc and get no paid overtime, and, no, I'm not a teacher. But I'm glad to hear I own your ass - now go and do some bloody work.....

Right, enough of the asking what it is I do. I "solve problems" for large organisations. I fix broken projects, mend dysfunctional departments and generally deal with multi-million pound budgets with the aim of saving lots of money. My current deployment is in the EU legal sector where I'm fighting a large punitive damages case. If I win I'll have saved the company more money then I'll earn in a hundred lifetimes.....

It's a valid opinion (whether i like it or not) to think you pay too much tax and/or it's being spent on the wrong stuff. But I think the media and politicians make it very difficult for a balanced debate - cheap soundbites, misused stats, demonsising bits of society (dole scroungers, fatcat bankers, lazy public sector workers) - idolising other bits of society, hard working families...

The only way to do anything is through your MP/democrtatic process, but we all seem very divorced from politics. Only really get a say every 5 years and really only in marginal constituencies. Then again when the government offers a system that would have given smaller pressure groups/parties more influence (proportional representation) the public say no thanks.

oh well - it's stopped raining, time to go out on my bike

DrRS**** - if what you are saying is correct, then as I said above, you are working too hard for the amount you get paid.

DrRS**** - Member
I regularly work weekends, evenings etc and get no paid overtime

You're a fool then.

DrRS**** - if what you are saying is correct, then as I said above, you are working too hard for the amount you get paid.

No, I'm just annoyed at how my taxes are spent......

But thank you for caring 🙂

Institute for fiscal studies - right wing think tank

It is generally considered by the media as non biased and independent, hence its figures are widely quoted at Budget time etc by the BBC.

Whilst the relative absolute cost to the state of the unemployed is low, the state is also missing out on taxes from the income they could be earning. Anyway, the better off are having to pay more tax due to the problems of recent years and that's mostly down to the way the banking system worked and partly due to Labour's inability to balance the books even in the good years.

Thing is, DrR - if you stopped working then it would be a mahoosive change in your lifestyle and expendable income, think about how much worse off you'd be!

Whereas in my shoes - single parent carer for a disabled daughter - do you know how much worse off I would be by not working 9-5 and going on the social? I did the sums just the other week, taking everything into account

73 quid a week!

a lot less of a change in lifestyle and expendable income I'm sure you'd agree. What would you do in my shoes?

DrRS**** - Member
I'm just annoyed at how my taxes are spent......

As has been pointed out a number of times, you're annoyance is based on a politically expedient fallacy. I'm still waiting to hear how many people you think choose to be unemployed.

The reality of the world is that there is a minimal number of people who just won't work and (at the moment) a quite large number who can't work because appropriate jobs are not available. Yes, you could give a geology graduate a job picking litter but this will harm their chances of getting gainful employment in a higher paying job in what they have trained in and so increase their dependence on the state. It's a foolish game to play.

I'm getting pretty sick of people saying "they should be forced to work"- work at what? We're in a recession that the current government is cultivating and companies aren't employing skilled or graduate level jobs. If people aren't employing what job exactly will they do?

Right, enough of the asking what it is I do. I "solve problems" for large organisations. I fix broken projects, mend dysfunctional departments and generally deal with multi-million pound budgets with the aim of saving lots of money.

So you don't actually work as hard as a nurse or fireman then? Freeloader! 😉

No, I'm just annoyed

Stop being so annoyed. Appreciate how fortunate you are. Start enjoying life.

Your day off? What the **** are you doing wasting it on here for then???

BBC use figures/views/reprots from whovere produces an interesting press release and can field someone who can string a sentence together- they do sometimes precede the piece with right leaning/left leaning etc. But don't forget think tanks use media for free publicity so saying something controversial gets them airtime - often the underlying report/data is a lot more balanced than the press release.

Doesn't mean that the views are not valid - but there are just that, views, interpretations.
(edit)

a lot less of a change in lifestyle and expendable income I'm sure you'd agree. What would you do in my shoes?

Wee in them?

Sorry, couldn't resist. I'm sorry to hear of your circumstances, and I hope you don't see that as pointless pity, it is genuine. And I could imagine that you may choose to focus yourself on caring for your daughter which is fully admirable. But I would see this as work for you. You're not just sitting around smoking weed and doing scratch cards, you're doing something useful. Good on ya.

DrRS**** - Member
You're not just sitting around smoking weed and doing scratch cards, you're doing something useful. Good on ya.

I call troll.

BBC use figures/views/reprots from whovere produces an interesting press release and can field someone who can string a sentence together- they do sometimes precede the piece with right leaning/left leaning etc. But don't forget think tanks use media for free publicity so saying something controversial gets them airtime - often the underlying report/data is a lot more balanced than the press release.

Doesn't mean that the views are valid - but there are just that, views, interpretations.

Whilst I don't disagree with you on the whole, the IFS seems to be reserved a special place in the media generally as giving the best independent analysis of budgets etc - its analysis is quoted across the political spectrum - so to describe it as right wing is simply wrong in the current UK political climate. You of course may think the centre ground is right wing, but that would be based on personal prejudice.

It's all about education.
You need to pay more tax to fix the problem you speak of.

Well rounded people is what society needs and the education system does not seem geared towards this goal at all in my view.

I'm sure your a decent hard working chap but you sound like you have forgotten your roots.
People at the top think they are special and people at the bottom think they are worthless, the people in the middle are confused!

Whilst the relative absolute cost to the state of the unemployed is low, the state is also missing out on taxes from the income they could be earning. Anyway, the better off are having to pay more tax due to the problems of recent years and that's mostly down to the way the banking system worked and partly due to Labour's inability to balance the books even in the good years.

Or looked at another way: the 'better off' are very often grossly overpaid according to the social value of their jobs, meaning that too much of a finite resource (money) is disproportionately given to too few people, meaning that there is a shortfall for too many others. Hence the need to periodically increase taxation of the 'better off'.

Poverty does not exist because people are lazy; it exists because those controlling the wealth do not distribute it evenly.

Aha - cheers - actually, thats exactly what I've decided to do - which as a self avowed right wing nutter has been somewhat of a huge change I can tell you. It gives me no pleasure at all to find out that the difference between working (on a not too bad, but bike industry, wage) and not doing so is so small, actually, I think its absolutely F'ing shocking - but sometimes you have to know when to put your own family first, stop kicking and join the rest of them 👿

and please don't feel sorry for my circumstances, I've got the best thing in the world - a wonderful daughter who I am going to get to spend more time with and help her, and time to ride my bike when she's at school 😀

Remember DrR - Glass half full!

Should we mention yet that people on lower incomes pay out a greater proportion of their incomes at taxes?
Really? My maths is a little rusty but I always thought 20% was smaller then 50%?
Maybe that where my argument is wrong then. God bless taxes increasing as you earn more.

Blatant troll. Anyone earning 150k + should be intelligent enough to understand that the statement was not purely talking about income tax. Or did your irrational anger blind your intelligence?

Any rational person would be more upset about their taxes funding the profits of private companies by allowing them to pay wages that don't allow people to raise families etc, but you are focusing on the 0.7% of government spending. Why?

Maybe when all the unemployed who want to work have found full time employment (they greatly outnumber the 'JK' generation), we can start to talk about getting those that don't want to work, working, but until then, it's irrelevant

and time to ride my bike when she's at school

I've gone off you now.....

😈

@OP I too used to be in the highest tax bracket and it made me sick to realize just how much I was paying in to the system, to support those who couldn't be bothered to work, etc.

But then I had a revelation and decided that if my biggest worry was what color my next mercedes was going to be; then life had dealt me a pretty good hand and I should be grateful for that.

I don't earn anywhere near what I used to now and am no longer in the top bracket. I still think that bracket is punitive but adjusting my perspective made me a lot happier 🙂

I think the OP's problem is that he works too hard, doesn't do the things in life most people do to enjoy themselves. Maybe if you did you'd gain a bit more perspective on things. Cos that's what you're lacking, not a few quid that you 'think' is being stolen from you by the scroungers.

Dr s**** from what you say it sounds as if your employment will be significantly funded by taxation and so it is a bit rich to bitch about the taxes we are all paying to keep you in the lap of luxury . Your current role is to assist an entity that has done something so wrong it faces millions in damages, avoid it's legal liability ? Are you really sure you do anything more socially useful than a benefit cheat . The average benefit cheat will be lucky to screw 15k out of the state you claim to be helping deprive the eu of far more than you could earn in a life time.

Dr R S**** 'worse than a benefit cheat'! 😆

You couldn't make it up...

Mefty - ok fair enough, I guess it's pushing it a to call IFS right-wing (and I'm not a big lefty anyway, actually I am in some ways but not others), and the do get criticsed for being to taxy by the right wing fringe as well.

Despite my reservations about policy groups and think tanks (and I've worked in that environment) I think it's all grist to the mill of an informed opinion

I know I've had enough of this country, it's spineless leaders, the spongers and scroungers etc. If the OP and anyone else fancies a revolution, let me know. In the meantime I'm off back to my bubble, where I'll try to block it all out and get on with my life.

chipsngravy - Member
I know I've had enough of this country, it's spineless leaders, the spongers and scroungers etc. If the OP and anyone else fancies a revolution, let me know. In the meantime I'm off back to my bubble, where I'll try to block it all out and get on with my life.

I've had enough of people not reading threads and reposting an already thoroughly debunked line.

Decent streets and roads

Struggling to see "decent" roads around here at the moment!!! Potholes, bumps, crap surfaces, etc etc!

I would say that if everyone on here earned the same as the OP they would be the same. No one wants to pay tax and personally I don't see the benifits that a lot of folk are saying they see from paying tax.

If the country wasn't in debt we could save 50 Billion...thats the bigger problem!!!!

Right, enough of the asking what it is I do. I "solve problems" for large organisations. I fix broken projects, mend dysfunctional departments

I've had enough of people not reading threads and reposting an already thoroughly debunked line.

Well there are some scroungers! But yeah in the great scheme of things they are of minor concern.

Ms you must have had a really short or sheltered life I love paying tax . Tax funds the NHS that saved my sons life and ensured my mum can still walk . It provided my education and part of my mums pension. It gave my .brother a job and the equipment to do it relatively safely . It provides a police force that in general are a force for good and a fire service who entertain us all with their jolly red engines and delightful bells . Anyone who resents paying tax is a scrounging scumbag who should be forced to have a tattoo to state they opt out of receipt of all state benefits and support and are willing to pay a surcharge in supermarkets as they don't wish to benefit from the state subsidy of cheap labour.

Anyone been made redundent as a result of your "solutions"?

No. That isn't what I do. Not lost one yet, and don't intend to.

Two choices - Suck it up and stop whining or go self employed/contractor if you can and become more tax "efficient".

Just while you're contemplating your choices I'll leave this here so you can gain some perspective on how terrible your life is.. Things, as they say, could be worse.

[img] [/img]

People earning a living somewhere that's not England.

crankboy - got there before me.

...what you said and not to mention all the private sector people who earn money through public sector contracts

I used to pay lots of tax, but only because I earned lots. Never bothered me, I just was happy with the big number appearing in my bank account periodically. I then went on to spend said money, helping the economy further and paying more tax. So it goes, we live in a nice safe country with lot's of lovely soft first world advantages. It's not perfect but both historically and geographically there aren't many places I'd sooner be. And the few that I would (warmer climate, better mountains, better surfing, all close together) tend to be higher taxing and/or economically worse than us anyway.

I think this thread just goes to show that the 'divide and conquer' propaganda machine of the traditional tory right is working fantastically well. Heaping the blame on the '****less' unemployed is the overarching objective - get everyone blaming the most vulnerable when in fact the costs/impacts of their alleged lifestyle or behaviour (competing with 5 other people for every job available), is negligible in the grand scheme of things versus the costs of bank bailouts, corporate tax dodging, long-term artificially low interest rates creating unsustainable debt levels, woefully inadequate regulation of financial services, HNW individuals tax dodging and many other similar conduits for removing money from circulation in this country before HMRC gets a sniff.

DrRS**** - Member
I regularly work weekends, evenings etc and get no paid overtime

In that case youre doing someone who may be unemployed out of a job, work your normal hours and any extra work can be made up by the new member of staff, you did ACTUALLY WANT PEOPLE OFF BENEFITS DIDNT YOU.

Also a bit more simplistic, but if your alledged higher tax band kicks in at say 60 k, why not ask your boss to pay you 50 k and then youre paying less tax.

This is a trend at the moment, pay one person very high amounts to work every hour god sends, to avoid paying 2 people to do the work, and probably be happier, your wealth seems to be making you quite misserable. Owing to a series of circumstances I won't bother going into last year I earned around 1/10th of your wage, yet I seem to be happier. I used to pay more tax, now I don't pay so much, but as I'm public sector I haven't had a pay rise in 3 years, you sound to have had one, which should cheer you up, but that too sounds to have upset you.

My advice, request a paycut, or job share.

Can't we force them to work or do something useful?

Ahhhhhh Die Endlösung.....

"Chantelle, Crystal, Chardonnay, Kade, Kane, Kieron, Kyle, Mason, Troy, Tyler.... bevore you start ze public vork you need ze delousing, step into zis shower....."

".... Gunter, das [s]zyklon[/s] heißem Wasser bitter"

I smell troll.... no one can be that inflamatory

Trolling pays well these days doesn't it?

DrRS**** - Member
I regularly work weekends, evenings etc and get no paid overtime

In that case youre doing someone who may be unemployed out of a job,

I think this thread just goes to show that the 'divide and conquer' propaganda machine of the traditional tory right is working fantastically well. Heaping the blame on the '****less' unemployed is the overarching objective - get everyone blaming the most vulnerable when in fact the costs/impacts of their alleged lifestyle or behaviour (competing with 5 other people for every job available), is negligible in the grand scheme of things versus the costs of bank bailouts, corporate tax dodging, long-term artificially low interest rates creating unsustainable debt levels, woefully inadequate regulation of financial services, HNW individuals tax dodging and many other similar conduits for removing money from circulation in this country before HMRC gets a sniff.

Yeah it's always the Tories fault even when they're not in power. Nothing was any different when the others were in.
This country needs a taxation system overhaul - I'd vote for that.

Ms you must have had a really short or sheltered life I love paying tax

Thankfully its the first one 🙂

Disagree with your post! NOBODY loves to pay tax, if you could get the same without paying it you wouldn't pay it. If you hadn't needed those things you would think differently! Yes some very good things from paying tax and as the OP said it wasn't that he was moaning about not paying it it was that some people pay a lot more than others. I think even if it is a trivial amount that the unemployed feed into tax they should still be made to work if on job seekers allowance. It would certainly show that they were doing something for their benefits and change peoples opinion on the whole matter!

I've managed to minimise my tax exposure by being incredibly unsuccessful. Sure, I live in a manky suburb that makes Royston Vasey seem aspirational, but other than that it's all going very well.

[i]Ms you must have had a really short or sheltered life I love paying tax

Thankfully its the first one

Disagree with your post! NOBODY loves to pay tax, if you could get the same without paying it you wouldn't pay it. If you hadn't needed those things you would think differently! Yes some very good things from paying tax and as the OP said it wasn't that he was moaning about not paying it it was that some people pay a lot more than others. I think even if it is a trivial amount that the unemployed feed into tax they should still be made to work if on job seekers allowance. It would certainly show that they were doing something for their benefits and change peoples opinion on the whole matter! [/i]

You do sound a bit simple, even for someone young.

Tax is the price you pay to live in a civilised society; there are other places to live.

it wasn't that he was moaning about not paying it it was that some people pay a lot more than others.

I think even if it is a trivial amount that the unemployed feed into tax they should still be made to work if on job seekers allowance. It would certainly show that they were doing something for their benefits and change peoples opinion on the whole matter

Its sounds like a good idea but the basic problem[cause] with the unemployed is that there are not enough jobs for everyone to work.

As for paying too much tax my heart bleeds for the struggling wealthy it must be utterly terrible trying to get by on higher rate tax....i dont know how you do it but I am thinking of you in your time of need....perhaps we should set up a charity to help you cope? Perhaps we should get the unemployed to cook and clean for you whilst you are out at work ? perhaps they could be yours till they get employment?

The financial system which we all rely on, only exists because the state exists and provides the legal foundations for money. To say that you would rather pay no tax, is to say that you think that the state shouldn't exist, in which case your money wouldn't exist, as there'd be no banking or legal system to maintain the fiction that is modern money.

Taxes are great, they mean we can have a functioning state, rather than living in some mad max apocalyptic future world. They allow things like the internet to happen (largely state funded initially, and wouldn't work without state support and regulation}.

That's spot-on Joe, trouble is we have a system that allows some people and organisations to pay nothing even when they're clearly making a mint.

I moved to Germany which has higher tax than the UK, creates more government employment and gives higher benefits. It also has cleaner streets, lower crime, more efficient transport and much more sporting and recreational facilities. All in all I very much feel that the higher taxes contribute to a much better life.
The biggest problem in the UK is the greed and selfishness of the rich, they are far to insular to realise the benefits of contribution to the health of wider society.

Brill well said that man............................................

Hmm Germany has a quite different economic profile though. And you don't get social healthcare either.

I am generally in favour of higher taxes and higher state spending, but the big problem is that without the support of the population it'll never work. By all accounts it works in Sweden, and people there seem to understand why they pay taxes and the benefits it brings them. Like free childcare for instance.

I wish people here would see the positives of paying taxes, rather than just whining about it 🙁

Germany has a universal[1] multi-payer health care system with two main types of health insurance: "Law-enforced health insurance" (Gesetzliche Krankenversicherung) known as sickness funds and "Private" (Private Krankenversicherung).....According to the World Health Organization, Germany's health care system was 77% government-funded and 23% privately funded as of 2004

I do agree though many of our social problems would be far less if we lived in a more egalitarian society that offered equal opportunity for all rather than living in a more american style one with large rewards for the winners and crumbs from the table for the losers who we stigmatise as lazy and ****less whilst the rich moan about paying taxes and we cut them whilst reducing benefits and delivering bedroom taxes and arguing for no inheritance tax. It is selfish and moaners just want it to be even more selfish.

The distribution of commas and full stops needs attention too... 😉

your right, two is one to many. 😳

I'm glad you guys totally destroyed the OP....

I don't have to respond to his massive insult to human intellect now.

I don't have a problem with what the government spends money on, I have a problem with how they spend it.

If we could get government efficiency up the same as the best in the world, you could set the personal allowance at 30K or 40K, and still have more money to spare to improve services. We have become experts at burning money while providing little for it.

evidence for that claim please - any part of it?

[i]If we could get government efficiency up the same as the best in the world,[/i]

Questions;

1. What is 'government efficiency'?
2. Who or what is the 'best in the world' at delivering it?

[i]We have become experts at [s]burning money while providing little for it[/s] talking a load of old cobblers, apparently[/i].

As i see it very few folks on here are in the low pay bracket ,i only get £6.51 per hour ,so have to do in excess of 60 hours a week to earn a living wage after tax.
But i still have to pay it ,so if your earning over 40 k or 60 k a year and doing bits of overtime more the fool you.

I Would love to work less but got no choice .

mountainman - Member
As i see it very few folks on here are in the low pay bracket ,i only get £6.51 per hour ,so have to do in excess of 60 hours a week to earn a living wage after tax.
But i still have to pay it ,so if your earning over 40 k or 60 k a year and doing bits of overtime more the fool you.

I Would love to work less but got no choice .

!00 percent respect for you and I am not mocking you
good man

For me the term 'society' means sharing.

ian martin - Member
For me the term 'society' means sharing.

With you 100%

I work hard and I'm expected to subsidise those that do not. Doesn't seem fair. It isn't incentivising me to work hard....

Well it appears that either you don't need incentivising to work hard, or maybe there's something else incentivising you other than knowing that the money you "earn" isn't getting wasted on benefit scroungers.

Can I have a guess? Is it that you net £25+ an hour even with all that tax you pay? Do I win a prize (I'm sure you can afford it)?

As for paying too much tax my heart bleeds for the struggling wealthy it must be utterly terrible trying to get by on higher rate tax....i dont know how you do it but I am thinking of you in your time of need....perhaps we should set up a charity to help you cope?

You can mock but you try telling your au pair that you are reducing her food allowance and she will have to shop at Asda rather than Waitrose. Not easy.