I'm all for that but one thing that really pees me off is the realisation that having retired from a higher rate tax paying job at the age of 52 and currently receiving my work pension I am now aware that I am three years short on NI contributions to qualify for the full entitlement of my old age state pension when I reach the age of sixty six.

This will mean I'll receive twenty pounds per week less than the wife but have paid in infinitely more and best I don't dwell on the thought that those who have lived off welfare for lengthy periods will also receive more :nope:

There's probably a lot more than just those in the Commission who are currently laughing at the UK :yep:

I disagree for those of us who only work 20 hour week, I am happy in my job and hope to remain in it until i retire. The problem is the government of the day wastes money on pet projects and miss handles their spending.

How is Bojo going to get a new deal if he will not talk to the EU? :doh:

Bojo could turn out the bigger threat to the UK more than the nameless one the way he is going.

He has a nice head of hair!! :yep:

It has to come from somewhere inside :O:

What kind of income tax system you have in the UK? Here in Finland we have progressive system where tax percent is calculated based on tax payer's income. This means that those who earn a lot of money pay proportionally more taxes than those with low income.


For example if you earned 17,000€ per year, you would pay 6,00% in tax. If you earned 26,400€ per year, you would pay 17,25% in tax. If earnings are between thos two values, then tax would also be something in between.

Finnland seems to be basically like in Germany, though there is a limit of 42 percent "peak-tax" maximum, and everyone who earns more that 56,000 Euros for singles (or 112,000 for couples/families) a year has to pay it, which is about 2,9 percent germans.

But those 42 percent are only applied to what you earn more than those 55,000 Euros.

Also, a CEO can deduct tax if having a family, or cares for his future past retirement, so if you are really rich and know how to dodge, you pay around 24 percent maximum.


Oops you asked for english taxes i know

One must look precisely, the discussion in public often mixes things up. There is the personal income tax rate, and then there is the total mandatory payment burden. Sweden leads the list of income taxes with maximums over 61% (personally I wuld refuse to work in such a regime and get away as fast as I can...) Germany and the UK both have maximum rates of 45%.



But when adding mandatory social taxes and health insurrances and all that, Germany and Belgium lead the global comparison, hooray.



Taxes are blackmailing proteciton money by the use of superior force and threat of violence. Regional communities and poulations should instead decide themselves what they plan to do and want to do in their lviing place and what not, cooperating with neighbours or not. Contributins to this should be voluntary, which means a community can not enefit from somethign that it does not accept to sufficiently fund.


The money must stay in the region where it stems from. It mjst stay i the local economic ciruclation. This is also a good prevention against the hubris of megalomaniac super-politicians. The Swiss have some good principles in this regard, although their progressives try to destroy them as well.

Sounds pretty similar to that of the UK and I admittedly 'worked' the pension allowance to get to where I am now.

Quite an interesting comparison of Germany and France.

We have a flat rate system in Russia, as a rule you pay 13 percent of the income.

The differences between Germany and France are real. In the past, France wanted to be great like during the Napoleonic age, but lacked the economic power to be that great by its own means: it needed the economic weight of Germany. And the Germans did not and still do not dare to be powerful by their own weight - they seek justification by lining up with a French partner that adds moral legitimation to their own power.

Its just that centralism and federalism do not dance well together. And the French are more ruthless to support and go after their interests, than the Germans. The French know very well that the Germans tend to always avoid serious conflict, and that they fall back from their positions if only you press them long enough. Thats what is happening now with the since-long wanted open collectivization of national debts and worker unemployemnt insurrances in Europe - a demand the French have risen since long since they would benefit from it and get support for their socialist money policy from it, while the Germans and some other net payers since long time tried to resist to this - but Merkel now giving room to it since it is a price for keeping the SPD in the grand coalition. Its bad for Germany and the German tax payers, but it is good for Merkel's ambition to fulfill her term, no matter what. Merkel first, Germany last.

I always thought that the cooperation between France and Germany is overrated and kind of glorified. The substance of it is much weaker, and it shows when crisis emerges, and conflict. Then one can see how weak the axis really is. And the German romantic dreams are not shared by France' political elite, for them the EU is a vehicle to transport France back to the top of the European hierarchy. Judging by how willingly the Germans time and again fall back in face of French pressure and demands (strating already with the Euro as a price for reunfiication), I can only conclude that berlin indeed is not aware of that and indeed still dreams the dream of France sharing German sentimentalism. The waking up from this dream will be financially extremely costly and potentially ruinous for the German employees and savers. French powerplay, versus German feeling-morally-good and romanticism.

There was Greece during the financial symptom outbreak 2007 ff. There is Italy. But the real financial reactor meltdown in the Eurozone takes place in France. With France' financial reactor core melting, next the the German Target-2 saldi will "blow off". And then the rest in liabilities.

This has all the ingredients for the mother of all financial and economic collapses.

The massacre will be anything but brief or sublime. It will be a bloodbath, and after the killing comes the after-killing. And nobody will suffer as high losses, as Germany.

Looks like you received bad advice.:hmmm: My own employers pension scheme has two variations; a "normal" one where it's deducted off your gross pay and the other one which is a "salary sacrifice" system where it's deducted before tax. The latter means you pay less income tax, but your NI contributions are also less thus affecting your state pension. I've refused point blank to go onto the "salary sacrifice" system for obvious reasons.


Mike.

I only do ten more hours than you, but I do have to highlight that the SNP have altered the tax bandings here in Scotland so I actually pay slightly less tax than someone in England does on the same wage.

Scottish income tax bands: 2019-2020

Over £12,500-£14,549 Starter Rate 19%

Over £14,549-£24,944 Scottish Basic Rate 20%

Over £24,944-£43,430 Intermediate Rate 21%

Over £43,430-£150,000 Higher Rate 41%

England, Wales Northern Ireland tax bands: 2019-2020

Over £12,501-£50,000 Basic Rate 20%

Over £50,001-£150,000 Higher Rate 40%

Applies throughout the UK:

Up to £12,500 Personal Allowance 0%

Over £150,000 Additional Rate 45%

National Insurance contributions are reserved to Westminster and are thus the same UK wide.

Mike.