"Facts" about the UK and NHS

But the 50% is only on income above £150,000, not on ALL their income!
I worked mine out taking both income tax and NI together and it worked out at 23% of my salary. Of course there are things like VAT, road tax, fuel duty etc to take into account.

I think it might represent the inclusion of employers' NI, too.

Alternatively, it could be to do with the highest marginal rate which, if I'm not mistaken, is around the 68% mark due to NI, 50% tax and the phased withdrawal of the personal allowance. I'm not exactly sure, but I do remember that over a £1-2,000 range we had the highest taxes in the OECD.

The statement I saw that aggravated me specifically said "income tax"...so that would not include NI.  I know we only pay 20% so the general statement "People in the UK pay 68% income tax" is incorrect.  But many people will hear it and believe it.

This person actually choose the wrong wording anyway...because she was talking about the overall amount of taxes (which would include NI) that are automatically deducted from your paycheck.  Her point was to make people believe that if you live in the UK, you only net 32% of what you gross (after 68% is taken out).  So if you make £2000/month, after all tax deductions you will bring home £640/month.  I think that would be an interesting concept.

I think people just post stuff on Facebook, trying to sound like an authority on the subject (because they read an email or heard some random person say something).  They must forget that I'm on their friend list or that I moved to the UK...and aside from being intelligent enough to do a simple Google search before I post random information as facts, I can also just walk in the bedroom and look at my husband's actual paycheck.  

I've had to put some FB 'friends' on ignore as they irritate me too much with their false facts and resistance to see a different side of the story. 

My sister in the US has to pay for her own health insurance. Care to guess what percentage of her income that takes up?

My sister in the US has to pay for her own health insurance. Care to guess what percentage of her income that takes up?

I love making that point, though people still never seem to get it.

They were just making a big deal in the local news the other day about it being Wisconsin's 'Tax Freedom Day.'  As of Monday, people had supposedly, on average, worked enough this year to pay their taxes, and would keep whatever they made for the rest of the year.  And, of course, they were pointing out that Wisconsin was several days behind the rest of the nation (i.e. our taxes are higher).  And I just thought 'Great!  Now, add up all your insurance premiums, co-pays, lab fees, prescription costs, etc.... and then tell me when you're 'free.'

My sister in the US has to pay for her own health insurance. Care to guess what percentage of her income that takes up?

I have health insurance through my employer, but I do have to contribute money each month from my paychecks.  And of course there are the co-pays.  But even with my employer covering some of my insurance plan, and me only paying co-pays for visits, procedures, and medicine...

My annual health insurance contributions + 3 co-pays for annual exams (1 OB-GYN and 1 Physical and 1 specialist) + 12 co-pays for my 1 year worth of medicine + 1 co-pay for a required annual biopsy > NI annual contributions in the UK if I had the equivalent salary.

That doesn't even count a few doctor visits because I got ill, or because I broke my toe, or if I needed to go to A&E in the middle of the night for chest pain or something like that.

And I visit specialists, and their co-pays are even higher than a co-pay to see my primary care physician.

I think it might represent the inclusion of employers' NI, too.

Alternatively, it could be to do with the highest marginal rate which, if I'm not mistaken, is around the 68% mark due to NI, 50% tax and the phased withdrawal of the personal allowance. I'm not exactly sure, but I do remember that over a £1-2,000 range we had the highest taxes in the OECD.

Don't forget that there is an upper limit on NI as well, you don't pay any NI on earnings above about £40,000, so that offsets the higher income tax rate.
Personally I advocate removing this upper limit and people pay NI on all their earnings.

Don't forget that there is an upper limit on NI as well, you don't pay any NI on earnings above about £40,000, so that offsets the higher income tax rate.
Personally I advocate removing this upper limit and people pay NI on all their earnings.

You pay NI on all earnings, it is just reduced above ~£40,000 to 1% (soon to be 2%).

Oh indeed, but put it this way, the higher rate starts at £37,400 whislt NI 11% ends at £43,888 (or thereabouts). That puts about £6,000 in a 51% tax bracket - including employers' and it goes to 63.8% for a 112.8% gross wage for that bit...

Still not sure on that how they got 68%, though...

I'm pretty sure whoever quoted that 68% wasn't doing all these calculations based on "what ifs" of certain salaries. They were obviously misquoting someone who misquoted someone, etc, I'm sure.

I've already had this argument about how "bad" the NHS is with my (fox news watching *they used to NEVER be like this!!!*) parents. It's a no-win argument with people who are so misinformed, yet believe every word they've heard is 100% gospel.

(fox news watching *they used to NEVER be like this!!!*) parents.

My mother gets a lot of her information from Fox.  My parents were always sterotypical liberal, pro-union democrats. What is this pull that Fox has on old people?

My mother gets a lot of her information from Fox.  My parents were always sterotypical liberal, pro-union democrats. What is this pull that Fox has on old people?

Well, my parents were never liberal, but this weird right wing thing they're into now scares me. They told me they want to get a gun!! Honestly, my mom can't work a remote control. What is she going to do with a gun? It may just be talk (I don't think they've made any actual moves to get certified, etc), but just the fact they'd think it's a good idea!

I bet they put some kind of strange subliminal messages in the shows on Fox to target the old people sweetpeach!

Honestly, my mom can't work a remote control. What is she going to do with a gun?

 

I bet they put some kind of strange subliminal messages in the shows on Fox to target the old people sweetpeach!

*laughing*  perhaps that is what it is.  My mom kept falling for the fox news crap too and she was a liberal as well.  very strange.

My sister in the US was just telling me how my mother thinks that DH and I don't know anything about politics so she has to explain things to us.

My mother runs out of things to talk about on the phone when she speaks to me and DH, so my sister suggested that she ask me and DH about the upcoming UK election. My mother told my sister that she wouldn't ASK us, she would TELL us* about it, because apparently she knows more about the UK election than we do.

us =
myself, the dual UK/US citizen
+
DH, the British citizen who was born in the UK 40 years ago