If the government was taking 45% of anyone’s money, there would be no deficit, Social Security would be dolvent in perpetuity, and we’d easily be able to provide universal healthcare. Instead, not a single god damn person pays anywhere close to 45% of their money in taxes
Actually the UK’s Higher Tax Rate is 40% for income above £50k, but when you add in National Insurance tax the total rate of tax is 42% (with 28% for earnings between £12k and £50k).
For incomes over £125k under the Additional Tax Rate it’s 45% (47% with National Insurance. So a significant number of high income workers do get taxed 45% or above, at least for a portion of their salaried/wage income.
The kicker is that the wealthy don’t earn most of their money working for an income, they do it through investments, which is covered under capital gains tax. Income tax starts at 20% and goes up with income, meanwhile capital gains tax starts at 20% and goes down through loopholes.
The issue isn’t income tax, that’s just making the plebs fight against one another. The issue is capital gains tax and all the loopholes the ultra wealthy use to avoid paying their share. These people don’t contribute to society, they don’t work, they just make money off of their money and other peoples’ work.
45% overall would be far higher than 125k. You would have 20% tax up to £50k, 40% tax between £50k and £125k, and then 45% tax above £125k. So in order to be taxed 45% overall you would have to earn well over £125k, as a significant portion of your earnings would still be taxed at the lower rates. You don’t start paying the higher rate until you’re earning it, and even then you pay the lower rate for any earnings below the threshold.
The UK tax system also has a werid position between about £100k and £125k. There is a tax free allowance between 0 and around £12.5k, when you earn over £100k this starts to reduce until £125k where it is entirely removed. After £125k you start making money again, but with earnings of between £100k and £125k per year you can actually take home less.
There is specific maths that clear this up more consisely (not least because thresholds change every year) but that’s the general gist of it.
If the government was taking 45% of anyone’s money, there would be no deficit, Social Security would be dolvent in perpetuity, and we’d easily be able to provide universal healthcare. Instead, not a single god damn person pays anywhere close to 45% of their money in taxes
Actually the UK’s Higher Tax Rate is 40% for income above £50k, but when you add in National Insurance tax the total rate of tax is 42% (with 28% for earnings between £12k and £50k).
For incomes over £125k under the Additional Tax Rate it’s 45% (47% with National Insurance. So a significant number of high income workers do get taxed 45% or above, at least for a portion of their salaried/wage income.
The kicker is that the wealthy don’t earn most of their money working for an income, they do it through investments, which is covered under capital gains tax. Income tax starts at 20% and goes up with income, meanwhile capital gains tax starts at 20% and goes down through loopholes.
The issue isn’t income tax, that’s just making the plebs fight against one another. The issue is capital gains tax and all the loopholes the ultra wealthy use to avoid paying their share. These people don’t contribute to society, they don’t work, they just make money off of their money and other peoples’ work.
Does anyone end up paying 45% of their income though? (The meme even implies wealth, actually).
Only if you’re earning so much that the lower taxed amounts form less than 1% of your wage.
45% overall would be far higher than 125k. You would have 20% tax up to £50k, 40% tax between £50k and £125k, and then 45% tax above £125k. So in order to be taxed 45% overall you would have to earn well over £125k, as a significant portion of your earnings would still be taxed at the lower rates. You don’t start paying the higher rate until you’re earning it, and even then you pay the lower rate for any earnings below the threshold.
The UK tax system also has a werid position between about £100k and £125k. There is a tax free allowance between 0 and around £12.5k, when you earn over £100k this starts to reduce until £125k where it is entirely removed. After £125k you start making money again, but with earnings of between £100k and £125k per year you can actually take home less.
There is specific maths that clear this up more consisely (not least because thresholds change every year) but that’s the general gist of it.