Do Labour Think Middle England Are Thick?

[youngmafbog]

Balls seems to think hitting higher rate taxpayers (those over 150K a year so not exactly millionaires) with a punitive tax rate will attract voters.

OK, tax of envy does go down with staunch labour voters, but like the Tories that is not who he is trying to attract.

On both sides the party faithful are there already it is middle England that giveth and taketh and the majority of them are not bought by taxing the, well not very, rich. (Lets remember the real rich will have good accountants and wont pay anyway, you just hit hard working entrepreneurs)

So, is this another Balls up?

http://news.sky.com/story/1201522/business-bosses-slam-labours-50p-tax-rate

[emmie]

should GP's be earning more than the man who runs the country,

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/10334773/Thousands-of-GPs-paid-more-than-the-Prime-Minister.html

[DTCwordfan]

1% of Brits working roughly equals 200000 working in the super-bracket - lets assume and average of £300k income, (-150k) times 10p marginal tax = grosso-modo, £3.0 billion without any exemptions - not exactly going to solve the national debt and deficit issues.

[emmie]

DT, from the link i provided.


The highest-earning 1 per cent of Britons pay almost 30 per cent of all income taxes, according to research.

The 308,000 on the 50p top rate – who earn more than £150,000 – pay £47billion a year to the Treasury.

Since 2000, the share of tax paid by the highest earners has risen from 22.2 to 27.7 per cent.

[DTCwordfan]

Drive the economy by an extra 1% or more and there would be a higher tax flow into the IR and then use part of this to help fund the initial allowance increase for 30 million tax payers - much more 'equitable'...and as a percentage of total salary, obviously it helps the lower incomes more.

[mikey4444]

Only 1% of tax payers will be liable for this new rate of tax, which is only 5% more than it is at present. The rest of the us, the 99% won't pay it, so I am not sure what objection most of us could have.

Most people seem to think that there isn't any difference between Conservative and Labour policies. Well, Labour is now showing that there is indeed a difference between the Parties. Its a popular move, as most opinion Polls have shown.

[mikey4444]

emmie....£150k a year isn't a fantastic salary ? More drivel ! What planet are you living on for goodness sake ? If only 1% of earners are on £150,000 and above, how can it not be anything other than fantastic ? You should read your posts emmie, before you press that submit button.

[mikey4444]

ymb...where is "Middle England" exactly ? I live in Wales...do we have any
"Middle Englanders" living here ? What about Scotland ?

Its a meaningless phrase. If it is used to mean "people of middle incomes" then they won't be paying a penny more in income tax under this new proposal from Labour, then they are at present under the Tories.

"Middle England"...a phrase used by the DM a lot, which actually doesn't mean anything whatsoever.

[naomi24]

YMB, Labour is hoping middle England is thick.

Mikey, £150,000 isn’t a fantastic salary. I don’t know anyone earning that who employs a butler, as Jake rather ridiculously suggests. After paying a huge proportion in tax, much of the rest is taken up in mortgage payments, high rate council tax, school fees, and health insurance. Make no mistake, people on such salaries well and truly pay their way - and why shouldn't those who have worked hard to achieve what they have achieved not benefit from the fruits of their labour?

[mikey4444]

Naomi...I am not suggesting that people who earn £150,000 pa are
1...not deserving of the money
2...not paying their way

But its hugely in excess of what most of us earn...surely you have to agree with that, or they can't be in that 1% can they ?

[naomi24]

Mikey, I do agree with that.

[emmie]

what planet am i living on, the same one as you, strangely enough, your rudeness yet again at another's opinion, one that obviously doesn't tally with yours, its absurd to think that in modern Britain, that 150k would be considered a fantastic salary, its decent enough, but by the time you take out all the government wants and will take, you aren't left with a mega amount, and believe me 150k doesn't buy you a lot by way of a place to live in the capital.

[emmie]

Naomi, because some are jealous - the politics of envy, it's still with us in this country, time we got shot of it for good.

[ToraToraTora]

Only 1% earn 150K + then jake, so you see my point it will brong in very little. Clearly an Envy tax.

[naomi24]

Emmie, People don’t recognise the effort and responsibility that is demanded in return for such a salary.

[emmie]

no they don't, and i for one wouldn't call it a large amount, once yes, not now.

[chrisgel]

Perhaps if everyone, multinationals etc,, millionaires and all the very high earners in the entertainment industry including footballers, paid the tax they were supposed to instead of farming it all off into offshore accounts and other such dodges, then their would be no need for "punitive" rates.

[naomi24]

The fact is companies don't pay high salaries for nothing. They demand - and get - their pound of flesh.

[emmie]

my o/h's organisation got theirs, his demise.

[mikey4444]

Naomi...thank you.

Emmie...just because I disagree with you doesn't mean that I am being rude. If I have come across as rude, then please accept an apology. I am a plain speaker, as you will have discovered by now. I believe in vigorous debate...this isn't the Oxford Union.

But £150,000 pa is so unrepresentative of what the vast majority of us earn, than if fantastic isn't the word, then please choose another word. Not everybody lives in the London. Where I live, £150k a year would be a very good and exceptional salary indeed.

[naomi24]

You're welcome.