[Mikhail Liebenstein]

 porca misèria, on 26 February 2012 - 05:22 PM, said:

I don't think you'll get too much sympathy as hard-done-by Especially since your 62% marginal rate is so much lower than for a person of working age.

But that's a nice little illustration of why excess taxes are bad for the economy. Slash your marginal rate in half and ... 31% of something is more than 62% of nothing.

I think this thread makes an point though - £100k-150k PA isn't really rich.
Well off yes, and considerably better off than the majority - yes.

But it isn't rich, rich is probably having an unearned income of £500k + from assets and investments, so I guess you'd need £10m assets, and the flexibility to arrange your tax structure.

The mega rich are even better set up with hundreds of millions or even billions, and I think these are the people who need to be taxed.

This post has been edited by Mikhail Liebenstein: 26 February 2012 - 08:10 PM

[gadget]

 Mikhail Liebenstein, on 26 February 2012 - 08:09 PM, said:

I think this thread makes an point though - £100k-150k PA isn't really rich.
Well off yes, and considerably better off than the majority - yes.

But it isn't rich, rich is.....

".... someone earning considerably more than X"

where X is the salary of whoever is talking.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8151355.stm

Only 1% earn more than 118k apparently. There is no way being in the top 1% of earners does not make you rich.

Are there lots of people in London who earn a tonne more? Sure. Could they make you feel small at the golf club? Probably. Does that stop you being rich? No.

This post has been edited by gadget: 26 February 2012 - 11:44 PM

[porca misèria]

 gadget, on 26 February 2012 - 11:42 PM, said:

Only 1% earn more than 118k apparently. There is no way being in the top 1% of earners does not make you rich.

If you earn £26k/year you're in the global top 1% of earners.

Whether either of those figures makes you rich depends on a range of circumstances. Above all, property ownership.

[MarkG]

 gadget, on 26 February 2012 - 11:42 PM, said:

Only 1% earn more than 118k apparently. There is no way being in the top 1% of earners does not make you rich.

On a traditional income muliplier, that would allow you to borrow enough to buy a house around 400k. According to the BBC, the average house price in London is now 406k.

Being able to buy an average house in London does not make you rich.