Tax hits an all time high.

[nikita**]

I dont mind paying taxes but i dont think i've had my moneys worth, do you?

[Carol Anne]

I estimate that since starting work 30 years ago I've paid around �115,000 in deductions, in the next seven years til retirement I will probably pay another �45,500. If I live to 85, If Im lucky, the state will pay me back around �160,000 in pension, so all in all I think it's fairly equitable. However, I am painfully aware that had I sat on my @rse for most of my adult life and and milked the system, I could still look forward a comfortable retirement with housing benefit and pension credits. The fact I worked every hour that I could to contribute to a small additional pension and buy our own home, means that we will never qualify for anything but the most basic state pension, except possibly a winter fuel allowance and a free flu jab. I sometimes ask myself, was it all worth it?

[DavidUK]

And remember that the money you use to pay Council Tax etc. has already been taxed. I am fortunate, in one sense, that I earn enough to pay higher rate tax but this means that, to pay my �1500 Council Tax, I have to earn almost �3000.

Now dentists are all dropping NHS work so that's another several hundred pounds a year (at least) for a family.

Then there is the pensions crisis - I am paying a third of my gross income into a pension scheme so that I won't be living in poverty when I retire. And that's after a lifetime of working as a professional.

So where does it all go? Is there any way to find out? I would be interested to know, for one thing, how much of my money has been spent on bombing innocent foreigners!

[raysparx]

wish i was a One legged,black,lesbian single parent. instead of a 6ft builing worker, sometimes i wish,only sometimes, I wouldn't have to pay so much bloody tax then, I am getting really bloody angry now,don't start me off nikita,i rant for ages . Bye now Love you all!!

[woolleysheep]

of course its good value, you get to listen and see the best comedy show on earth.

[Bob A Job]

Its ok for those who are about to retire, but what about the younger generation. I just dont see a future for them.

If current trends continue, they will be working until they are all 85 and getting jack back at the end of it.

I moved abroad 2 1/2 years ago and havent looked back.
(i now pay �17 a month community, and get my bins emptied 5 times a week)