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This months wages…
Aren't you a salaried employee?
I think this’ll return take home wages to pre April levels for the less well off.
The 'less well off'?
As of 2020, £35K would put you in about the 70th percentile of earners!
I stopped looking at my pay statements a long time ago, we just try to stay within whatever goes in the bank, pretty much like a lot of people. I wouldn't aim any class thing at this, there's way too many variables going on in every household across the land, the reality is it's tough enough for most, without bringing in any 'us and them' arguments.
Just over £50 less in my pay with the NI changes etc.
I've been on a 4 day week through April due to automotive industry still struggling post covid, dreading next months pay packet 🙁
I also snapped a tooth off my chainring on my Scout last night.
How much does a kidney fetch these days?
OP
Im sure you will be fine, just ease up on the watch buying
😄😄
Down about £400 here as Mrs S is now on half pay – long term absence due to breast cancer.
Perspective? @scotroutes
My Mrs is on her 2nd bout of Chemo today, diagnosed 6 weeks ago. F@@k cancer, its sh## so yeah, perspective buddy.
Sorry to hear that Monkeysfeet, hope your wife and you are doing OK considering. MrsSpud had it diagnosed just before Xmas 2013 and is doing well now. Hope it goes well. And it puts things in the right perspective.
Can't see it mentioned in the 3 pages so far, but the NI increase isn't 1.25%, it's 11% which is 1.25% points. So hell of a whack. We're all being hammered but those on the lower incomes disproportinately more and it bloody stinks.
I'm about £45 worse off this month due to the NI increases.
Not much we can do about it - and not really our biggest concern right now.
Isn't the base rate at which you start paying income tax going up from 10k to around 12k in July? How does this affect those on say 20k/year?
How much does a kidney fetch these days?
Less than a BNIB Shimano chainring.
Sorry to hear that monkeysfeet & scotroutes. My other half is down to working 2 days a week, due to long term illness, so I understand the financial and practical issues there. I can't begin to understand the additional physical and emotional difficulties you're going though with the cancer though... but my thoughts are with you all.
Isn’t the base rate at which you start paying income tax going up from 10k to around 12k in July? How does this affect those on say 20k/year?
it will technically be better - although not enough to offset the cost of everything increasing.
Its also not a great help if you live month to month especially as the utilities bills have increased massively.
I've got two theories, one (nice but incompetent) is that the government have no concept of living month to month, and so they only looked at the annual figures and actually got a policy of taxation that is theoretically helpful to the less well off.
the other (competent but deceitful) is getting people to adjust themselves to the lower income for a few months, so when it picks up again in the summer they suddenly have "disposable" income to immediately spend and boost the economy.
Cast your votes. I'm going with the second option.
NI change has made a circa £75pm difference to convert tower. Add that to fuel & bills (home and car) and that'll be a noticeable difference.
But.....in comparison through individuals going through personal crisis and Ukraine etc, its maybe not a crisis. Perspective is key.
How about that the population needed a cost of living shock to slow down inflationary pressures? I've been listening to NYT podcasts, which discussed these types of things and find this concept interesting. I noted a government minister stating that people needed to feel the increase in energy costs. Wonder how this all ties in?
I found this calculator a couple of weeks back and used it to see how the changes affect me. It's better than the HMRC one I'd used before because you can select different tax year options. It works out about £40-50 per month extra in NI but using the post July option it seems to revert back to the 2021/22 level.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/money-mentor/income-tax-calculator/
the other (competent but deceitful) is getting people to adjust themselves to the lower income for a few months, so when it picks up again in the summer they suddenly have “disposable” income to immediately spend and boost the economy.
Cast your votes. I’m going with the second option.
As suggested earlier, if they were competent but deceitful, i reckon they'd have held off the NI increase until after the local elections!
The poor middle classes eh. 😆
Incompetent and deceitful then?
but the NI increase isn’t 1.25%, it’s 11% which is 1.25% points
Sorry for being thick,but can you eaborate. Don't understand what you have written
It's 11% more than it was.
It’s 11% more than it was.
But given no one knows how much NI they paid last month, it's not a particularly useful metric. Whereas most people do know their gross salary (or close enough).
Well, it's very hard to say what the % change to anyone's gross salary will be, because it depends on their net salary and is impacted by the thresholds at which NI and IT is paid... as well as many other things. Everyone will have their grass salary effected differently. For the income you pay NI on, you'll now pay 11% more NI than before... and then come July the income you pay NI on will change. Again, affecting everyone differently.
It’s 11% more than it was.
Gotcha. I recall being really pissed off when stupid people in the press talked about how second homeowners would have to pay 3% more stamp duty. I was thinking, not so bad... turned out their stamp duty had actually doubled.
Mrs RNP has had an extra 10people turn up this week for her community kitchen free hot meal that she started during peak Covid. She's doing 50+ covers now.
IN the news, the base rate is rumoured to hit 3% in the next few months also. Thats really going to hurt some people.
IN the news, the base rate is rumoured to hit 3% in the next few months also. Thats really going to hurt some people.
there's three days left for petrol to get to £2.50 a litre, as the Guardian predicted in early/mid march.
remember all news sources have an agenda, even the ones we on STW are meant to like.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate
Peoples' inability to digest basic information that they've to hand (it's on your payslip) is one of the (many) reasons this country is in such as bad place.
FWIW I've never met anyone outside of a Payroll and/or Personal Finance SME who actually understands how NI actually works, but what you paid in NI is written on any payslip you'll ever get and for folk on even a half-decent salary it's hundreds every month.
Amazing isn't it, that we need tax increases to cover the pandemic and 'save the NHS' yet all of a sudden, we seem to have billions of pounds to throw at an attempt to encourage Putin to nuke us
we seem to have billions of pounds to throw at an attempt to encourage Putin to nuke us
Do you not think supporting Ukraine is something worth doing?
as a result of actually looking at a payslip in detail for the first time in a while,
I'm down on NI this month, nowhere to the same degree as the OP...
but I've realised I can claim tax relief on 4 yrs on pension payments.
however, I've probably got to pay a child benefit tax charge on two of those.
so, no idea if I'm better off or not yet.
1. 1% National insurance increase = £40/m
2. 50% Electricity increase = £50/m
3. 15-20% increase in food prices = £80-100/m
4. 70% increase in heating oil price = £40/m
5. 20% increase in petrol price = £10/m
6. 25%(av) increase in streaming prices £8/m
7. 5.5% Council tax increase = £11/m
8. 11% water rate increase = £6/m
9. 9% Childcare increase = £40/m
All totaled = ~£300/m worse off than this time last year.Wage increase this year was 0.75%. In real terms, since the start of the pandemic, I’m about 15% below where I was in real terms.
Almost everyone will be facing similar challenges – £300 is A LOT to me, but it’s more than ALL for many people.
I think this really shows how much prices and costs are going up all over the place. There’s not one thing causing the issues it’s so many factors.
I’m no fan of how the government is dealing with it so far but I don’t think there’s any easy fixes which can be deployed quickly, a lot it outside factors which are difficult to control or mitigate.
Whatever they do a load of people will complain that’s for sure. Everyone agreed that the health service needed higher wages and the increase in NI probably wouldn’t have been much of an issue if everything else was the same but it’s just a crap storm of misery from all directions.
We are in a decent position but expecting more rises in the future, I’ve already tightened my belt as far as it will go and trying to save as much as can energy wise, food wise and cash too ready for the future.
Cheers Spud, that's appreciated buddy.
we have always considered ourselves lucky, the Mrs was covered by Furlough when the pandemic hit. So I guess all of that cash, plus the extra work the NHS had to do has got to be paid back somehow.
I'm not a tory supporter (i work in the emergency services FFS, we haven't had a decent pay rise since Tony Blair!!)
But I can't imagine the country would be in any better state under any other leadership.
I'll continue to be raped by the taxman, and those at the top will be laughing at me, but in 12 months time if I can sit and enjoy a sunset with the Mrs somewhere in the lakes, I will be a happy bunny.
I’m up £50ish thanks to a good employer.
Obviously that’s better than a lot of people but a few months ago we worked out that we had about £200 per month of ‘expendable income’ when really it needs to go into the savings.
Gas/electric has gone up £100 (over double) food bills have gone up enormously. So it’s tight but we’re surviving. We’re in the lucky position that Mrs P isn’t currently in paid employment and the kids are getting old enough for that to be an option if needs be.
Planned but not booked foreign holidays for this year have gone, Easter week was 2 nights in a premier inn rather than a week all inclusive somewhere.
£5k bike? No way, not even close.
£30k car? Possibly, no idea what it’s actually worth. but it’s leased and is only costing money, but it’s more budget-able than the previous used car than needed regular repairs. No idea how anyone could afford to buy a £30k car, but someone must because £30k doesn’t go far when it comes to new cars these days.
£30k car? Possibly, no idea what it’s actually worth. but it’s leased and is only costing money, but it’s more budget-able than the previous used car than needed regular repairs. No idea how anyone could afford to buy a £30k car, but someone must because £30k doesn’t go far when it comes to new cars these days.
I think you've answered your own question - the majority are leased.
I've got a company car, which is due to go at the end of this year - i've just ordered a new one - list price is £51k.
If i were buying car (like we all used to do) i'd be looking at used VW Passats for around £10k.
Hmm yes , something else is afoot. I can’t see my payslip only wages pending in my bank account. Maybe it’s something else, we aren’t on £200k! Maybe a tax code adjustment, I recently started a new job.
I knew as soon as I read the OP, there was two likely outcomes, 1) someone would work out you'd be earning waaaay too much to be complaining about it, 2) there was more going on.
But, yes these next few weeks are when people are going to really notice the changes.
At home we're £80 a month down on NI and yeah you can work that backwards, we're not struggling and I'm not complaining too much. Energy is up £50, Water is up £50, Council Tax is up £25, plus food and fuel. We didn't get the £150 council tax cash-back, I know, 'middle class problems'.
I'd guess £300 a month less, will it push us into poverty? No, but it's not like it's unnoticeable either. We're not savers by nature, we spend what we earn and we need to cut our lifestyle by £300 a month, which is noticeable, because we weren't living the high-life before.
I won't list the savings we're making, it will sound like a utter pisstake to anyone who's really struggling.
At least the NI rise will be largely reversed in July and those who are suffering the most, will benefit the most from that, I hope at least, that's what was promised.
In other 'good news' Martin Lewis today announced an expected 30% rise in Energy costs in Oct, that's of course 30% on top of the 54% that came in at the start of this month, for us that's another £60 a month...
We've enjoyed low interest rates for a while. This is affecting cars too.
Lease, HP, PCP, borrowing is cheap
Cars depreciate, lots, but a depreciated expensive car is still worth lots of money, and more than a depreciated cheap car, usually. In some way, shape or form you are paying for the depreciation over the years you have it, whether you have leased it or bought in cash and sold in cash.
Yup between council tax, NI, gas & leccy, phone, water increases on about £200 a month less
Im the only breadwinner with a family of 4 kids [gulp]
We're not struggling but its depressing, a lot less biking trips/races for me this year, which in the grand scheme of things isnt really a hardship, I worry for the autumn, I can easily see a recession on the horizon
Plenty of families at my kids schools not so lucky and already struggling
so, no idea if I’m better off or not yet.
been on hold with HRMC for 32 mins now, still no idea...
gave up after an hour of the same song on loop.
been on hold with HRMC for 32 mins now, still no idea…
Good luck once you've spoken to them, I live in constant state of owing tax as I paid too little or getting refunds as I paid too much (a £700 refund last year). I'm PAYE so not exactly a challenge to work out FFS, I have no other incomes and I'm not employing an accountant to game the system for me, so how it's so constantly wrong I have no idea.
My wife is a consultant therapy radiographer working on a cancer ward, she gets paid for 40 hours per week, yet due to her commitment to the NHS, works 80/85 hours per week, including saturday and sundays, is often up at 4am, to work at laptop, before actually going to work.
She doesn't get paid overtime, but keeps getting Time off in lieu, but when she tries to take it, it gets cancelled, or her work load is so high, she doesn't feel like she can take it.
She sat at home in tears the other day as a great deal of her role now is working out how urgent patients are to treat and having to constantly cancel or put back patients who's treatment is not as urgent as others, they are now copping abuse and surveys show that patient goodwill for the NHS is long past.
Her and her NHS colleagues are absolutely on their knees with fatigue, especially as so many have left and with high stress and sickness.
So if the increase in NI actually does go to supporting the NHS, then i am for it, i suspect that it will actually go to lining the pockets somewhere of some po*rn-watching, Eton educated scum as they try to privatise the health service bit by bit...
Salary into bank , a bit less this month due to NI … should be back up in July
Council tax a little more monthly this month .. won’t change again this year
Gas and electric quite a bit higher but could have been a lot worse, I made little changes to settings, timer for heating on 1 hr less per day and 1degree lower ( realise I’m luck, not everyone can do this )
All in all I should be ok with a few careful lifestyle changes …
It’s the elderly, folks on benefits, min wage or zero hour contracts I worry for …….. so much so I’ve started looking into local food banks… not so I can use them but so I can maybe donate a few useful things now and again …. I won’t miss a takeaway but donating a similar value may make all the difference to them …
Hope you guys are doing ok. My wife had 4th dose of chemo on Tuesday. 4 more then surgery and probably radiotherapy. Stay safe.
I’ve started looking into local food banks… not so I can use them but so I can maybe donate a few useful things now and again
Most supermarkets have a foodbank donation point - we throw a few extra things in the trolley each week and drop them in.
I got my bonus…
The tax man took over half of it.
Is that code for saying that you earn £150K a year and got a bonus as if you are not earning over £150k you won't have paid over half of your bonus in tax.
Assuming it’s on top of normal pay.
Higher rate 40%
NI rate 13.25%
= more than half.
@db @monkeysfeet and also @scud
Mrs S had her last batch of radiotherapy last week, following in from chemo and surgery. Sure, there is still medication involved but the cancer had been beaten and she is now determined to get on with her life -including getting back to work in the NHS. To those still fighting it, I think it's important to bear in mind that treatments are great these days. I also mention @scud as we had fantastic support and treatment from both the NHS and Macmillan. They all earn their salaries many times over and can't be appreciated enough.
That's fab Scot, best of luck and strength to you both.
that code for saying that you earn £150K
But you don't pay 50% tax above £150k...🤔
Assuming it’s on top of normal pay.
Higher rate 40%
NI rate 13.25%= more than half.
Nonsense. As that nice man pointed out on the other thread you only pay 2% NI above the threshold!
The poster is obviously earning either (£100,000 - bonus/2) or (£125,140 - bonus/2) as you pay 60% effective tax between those two bands because your personal allowance tapers.
So to get a rate of 50% clearly he is paying half the tax on his bonus at that 60% effective rate and half at the 40% rate.
I'm quite pleased with working that out, do I get a prize?
< Edit. Sorry, can I change my answer to (£140,000 - bonus/2) or (£165,140 - bonus/2) including employer's pension contribution ....because nobody would be stupid enough to fall into that trap until they'd paid the max possible in pension contributions that year>
You get to work in a HMRC call centre.
I feel really dirty posting that after Scotroute's contribution.
I echo Weeksy's thoughts on that far more important subject.
Xx
< Edit. Sorry, can I change my answer to (£140,000 – bonus/2) or (£165,140 – bonus/2) including employer’s pension contribution ….because nobody would be stupid enough to fall into that trap until they’d paid the max possible in pension contributions that year>
Can you explain this bit for the hard of thinking?
Which bit?
This bit:
The complexity of the UK's tax system has created tax 'sinkholes' that could result in you paying more tax than you expect. An example is the 60% tax trap, created by the tapering of the personal allowance, which leaves those earning between £100,000 and £125,140 paying 60% tax.
From https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sjp.co.uk/news/dont-get-caught-in-the-60-percent-tax-trap%3famp=1
Or this bit:
Your annual allowance is the most you can save in your pension pots in a tax year (6 April to 5 April) before you have to pay tax.
You’ll only pay tax if you go above the annual allowance. This is £40,000 this tax year.
From
https://www.gov.uk/tax-on-your-private-pension/annual-allowance
My assumption is that nobody would willingly pay that 60% tax rate, so as soon as they are earning above £100k they will be offloading as much as possible into pensions cycle2work etc etc.
But 40k is the max they can get tax relief on in a year, once they go beyond that they have to suck it up ( tongue firmly in cheeck)
Mrs FB was diagnosed 5 years ago. Surgery, chemo, radiotherapy has seen the bugger off (cancer that is). It didn't take her long to get back to strength after the radiotherapy stopped. Roll on the consultant appointment that marks 5 years this autumn.
@db whereas Mrs FB had surgery then chemo, a friend had chemo the surgery late last year, early this. The difference in tumour size that needed removing meant surgery was less invasive so hopefully the same for yours.
Best wishes to your other halves.
@scud I'm sure that patient survey is probably from those that had to wait 4hrs in A&E for a papercut.
As a family we've probably had more out of the NHS than most- our son spent time in NICU & SCBU, has CP so has lots of services involved and Mrs FB's cancer treatment so there are plenty of us that appreciate the NHS.
Tho they couldn't cure little Miss FB's gingerness
Tho they couldn’t cure little Miss FB’s gingerness
Move to Scotland. She'll be less noticeable.
You can pay higher rate tax at 41% and 13.5 NI if you live in Scotland. Higher rate of 41% at £43k. Still paying 13.5 NI until £50k.
I changed jobs 3 months ago. My tax code, tax from the last remnant of the old job + the new one (changing mid month) is a total cluster. What it's going to end up with is having to do a tax return mid year and then see whether I owe them or they owe me. Bleedin hard to plan as it is opaque. I'm fortunate enough that we won't be going hungry. But the effects of the Covid mus-management (never mind £37bln wasted, more like £500bln) and the conveniently masked Brexit cost has to be taxed back. Which Richie and his Mrs won't be paying more for will they. No. Lower and middle incomes to fund it.
I always find it amusing when people say they pay the higher tax rate, aye fair enough mate, but lets have a look at the effective rate over your whole wage, you aren't really paying that much.
The whole Uk tax system is actually quite linear in that sense. You need to be earning above 170k before you are hitting an effective 40% tax rate. If you are sitting in the 50k, you are about a 27% effective rate.
This is for Scotland(England won't be far off, the linear rise will be similar) and I've used the 12.5k threshold for the full year (couldn't be doing with melting my brain with that 3 month weirdness they are doing)
[img] 
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That chart makes my skin itch.
So, over £200 down on the family income this month
I appear to be £30 down... I expect we'll cope.
But you don’t pay 50% tax above £150k
They certainly don't but they pay more than under 150K. Anyway the point is the person claiming they paid more than half their bonus in tax is either lying or if telling the truth they need to contact HMRC as they have been over taxed.
Okay I got my bonus before the NI change earlier this year but after deductions it was 57% of gross.
That chart demonstrates the NI thing well. I wonder what the 15K line looks like (that's pretty much the £300 per week example which was raised yesterday)
But look at the 20K and even 30K, they might be getting on for national average wage (is that actually mean, mode or median) - but these are not rich people or families. A £10K increase from 20-30 and you lose £1300 of it to NI
A 10K increase above 50K and you lose £350 of it. £110-120K - yep, £350 of that extra £10K goes to NI and the NHS.
That simply can't be right. Higher earners need to shoulder more of the burden, when in a rich western nation lower earners are queuing at foodbanks.
That simply can’t be right. Higher earners need to shoulder more of the burden, when in a rich western nation lower earners are queuing at foodbanks.
That's exceptionally hard to argue with... but can you really see anyone putting that in place ?
I mean, even hitting people at over £200k a year with an extra 1% would have to make a MASSIVE difference wouldn't it... But i just can't see a government doing that.
'a' government, or this Government. Who's been excused paying a fair share? The wealthy, and well off pensioners. Who's likely to vote for them next time.....
Been done to some extent. From 2007 to 2019 the top 1% of earners share of income tax increased from 24% to 30%.
42% of adults paid no income tax.
To my mind jiggling tax rates isn't the answer.
Things like if we are to have a BBC it should be paid from tax not a flat rate licence fee.
If the govt wants to subdidise wind or solar energy they should be a govt expenditure from tax not added on to bills
Those two changes would make 42% non tax payers and other around £500 a year better off.
FWIW @kerley @jam-bo @thegeneralist i don't pay a single penny in UK income tax, or NI, i haven't for near enough 2 decades. So no, i don't earn over £100k. No way near.
Bonuses get taxed at well over 50% here.
Good luck once you’ve spoken to them, I live in constant state of owing tax as I paid too little or getting refunds as I paid too much (a £700 refund last year). I’m PAYE so not exactly a challenge to work out FFS, I have no other incomes and I’m not employing an accountant to game the system for me, so how it’s so constantly wrong I have no idea.
It's because you're paying high(er) rates of income tax, but maybe by not much so the 'system' isn't 100% sure how to properly through the year - only knowing at the end how much you're actually due to pay.
That graphic of gross to net is missing a lot of elements that most folk have.
Student loan deduction for example, someone earning £35k will be near enough £80 pcm (earn £50k and it's nearer £200), and never paid off - so it's a tax.
So at £50k, the 28% tax becomes 32% tax.
and I’m not employing an accountant to game the system for me
It could be worth it, 4 years ago I was recommended a £100 service from an accountant to sort out hmrcs mess for me and she found me a decent credit in excess of what it cost with PAYE back on the straight and narrow.
Oh, and FWIW, over here personal allowance is only about 120 quid a month, and our supertax bracket (at ~52%) starts at about £42k.
Bonuses are apparently taxed at 57% On the entire value.
I personally still have less total deductions than in the UK. So that's nice.
Been done to some extent. From 2007 to 2019 the top 1% of earners share of income tax increased from 24% to 30%.
actually, the rate increased steadily through the noughties and then has substantially levelled off since 2010.
https://fullfact.org/economy/do-top-1-earners-pay-28-tax-burden/
Can't think why it would change in 2010?
mert, you can see the confusion. A thread discussing UK tax and NI and you start whining about tax on your bonus when you don't even live in UK!
I always find it better to come from the angle of what a person is taking rather than what they are giving. i.e. someone taking £100K versus someone taking £10K.
It stops the why should I pay more tax question as people tend to think about why they are taking/receiving so much more than the £10K person.
That simply can’t be right. Higher earners need to shoulder more of the burden, when in a rich western nation lower earners are queuing at foodbanks.
Here we go again!
I'm going to put my head above the parapet on this one. I am very, very well paid. But it does get quite annoying when statements like this get made. In the last tax year I paid just over 43% of my income in direct taxation (Income tax plus NI). That's the average by the way NOT the marginal. Also living in Scotland the marginal rate my bonus was taxed (Income plus NI) at was 48% so not that far off half. To be clear I do not begrudge paying taxes, I'm not on the poverty line, and no the cost of living won't really impact me but what share of income should people like me be expected to pay?
gonefishin, i guess the question is, could you live with less, i presume possibly. could someone on minimum wage/benifits live with less, probably not?
Does anyone else feel like this is the start of a new way of living. Climate change will drive energy scarcity, which will drive people to extremes and cause more wars and conflicts, which will make the energy crisis worse. inflation and living costs rise. At some point everyone will hurt, its just a case of when?
or is this all a bit too much doom and gloom, and pessimism?
gonefishin, i guess the question is, could you live with less, i presume possibly.
I'll let you know in year as I'll be earning less.
This was a response to the rather glib statement that always rolls around that "high earners should pay more" when many don't necessarily realise that they (we) already pay quite a lot. Personally the changes I would make are
Treat capital gains as income and tax them accordingly.
Combine NI & income tax into one thing (that simplifies things and treats dividends a real income)
Make the sale of you personal home liable for CGT (well income tax if you do the first one) the same as any other asset. After all that is where most of the wealth in the UK is "stored"
Make inheritance tax payable by the recipient as income in the year it is received.
Those are ideas that would actually tax the wealthy not just those on high incomes.
I don't think continually squeezing PAYE is the answer. I actually don't understand why those at the top of companies need to earn so many multiples more than the workers either, most, from my experience aren't any more bright or harder working. I would like to see a much fairer distribution of salaries not tax....
And we really need to go after the waste in the system, the back handers, the excess company profits. Make our money go further, not just raise more to throw on the flames of ineffiency
We are fortunate, I moved roles specifically because of the cost of living crisis, and had a small increment, missus had a decent payrise. Overall we are about £40 pcm better off. But then we get smashed by an increase in utility bills of £150 (and likely to increase) and all the other cost of living increases. I guess we are £250pcm worse off. We are lucky that we can tighten the belt and have dropped some DD's to cover some of the shortfall
I don't think we will have energy scarcity. I think the Government's have relied on Fossil Fuels for so long, the switch to renewables has just not been as swift as they should have been.
Take Nuclear - 4 years ago Wylfa Power station on Anglesey should have had a new build, but due to costs sod all has happened. Maybe now they can start to build new reactors on already functioning nuclear sites. Its just a matter of cost and a willingness from Government to pull their finger out and invest. The sites are there, the tech is available and the support infrastructure is already in place.
This was a response to the rather glib statement that always rolls around that “high earners should pay more” when many don’t necessarily realise that they (we) already pay quite a lot. Personally the changes I would make are
I don't get that either, here have a proportionally bigger penalty for doing better than average.
To be clear I do not begrudge paying taxes, I’m not on the poverty line, and no the cost of living won’t really impact me but what share of income should people like me be expected to pay?
Do you want a direct suggestion? Then how about 50%?
Less direct? If more money needs to be collected in tax, I'd rather you paid a bit more than someone struggling to feed their family, for the reasons you've outlined yourself. You're doing okay, others are struggling for the basics of life.
here have a proportionally bigger penalty for doing better than average.
So, if more tax needs raising on earners (not sure it does, but hey), you'd rather the additional "penalty" be born more by those doing "worse than average"?!? Don't view direct taxation as if it is a "fine", but more about raising funds based on ability to pay, or about redistribution to help deal with the fact that some people are paid far more than others due to different kinds of work being valued (in money terms) very differently.