UK
Last week was the first St George’s Day where I felt there was nothing to be proud of about being English. Instead there was the depressing thought of our deterioration into a mess that would leave both my grandfathers, who passed away during World War II, rolling in their graves. Macro indicators and statistics out every few days recently show that we come up near bottom of the pile whether for financial, social or wellbeing criteria.
There is no exaggeration, or Tory propaganda, in saying that Wednesday was the most disastrous budget in UK history. The plans to borrow almost 348bn debt over the next two years (that’s 6m per British citizen!) amount to more borrowing than that of every previous Government in history combined. The long-term ramifications for this are eyepopping – according to the Institute of Fiscal Studies it will take until 2032 for Britain’s debt to be under control again.
There’s no way that the Tories regaining power next year will alleviate the irreversible economic damage caused by The Labour Party. Therefore, if you don’t want your children to suffer the failings of such staggering incompetency, there seems little alternative to leaving the country.
I’m hardly alone in this view, and indeed since Wednesday the only talk amongst my peers from Cambridge and at the bank have been strategies to make a sharp exit, of course exacerbated by the decision to raise income tax to 50% over 150k.
I’m actually a supporter of progressive tax fundamentally, and was in the minority of high earners who favoured initial plans to raise to 45% above 150k. 50%, however, is the straw that breaks the camel’s back. My concern is that UK plc could easily lose money through the mass exodus of high earners, increased attempts at tax avoidance, and putting off future job-creating entrepreneurs from reaching our shores. Many experts agree.
Elsewhere in the world, efforts to work hard to make something of yourself – pursue your goals and hopes, and fulfil your aspirations, whether that is to get rich or excel in your main field of interest, are widely applauded and supported. In the UK, ambition is treated with disdain and contempt.
In my last article, I mentioned I’d earned over 1m after tax by age 25 through a range of entreprising initiatives along with my day job. My inbox was subsequently brimful of support, thanks and good wishes mostly from foreigners (including some very well known, successful entrepreneurs), and ugly hate mail from Britons. Add to that the ignorant hatred from the British public to anyone working in finance, as if all “bankers” do the same job and are solely to blame for the mess, and one thing is clear – this country has to be one of the least welcoming on the planet for anyone with an ounce of ambition to succeed.
This country also has to be the worst in the developing world when it comes to the high tax rate vs quality of public services. As a commentator said in response to a recent eFinancialCareers article, “Denmark and Sweden have very high taxes and immense quality of life. You get what you pay for.” Indeed, I probably wouldn’t be so bothered about paying a tax rate rivaling that of our Nordic neighbours if we got globally enviable healthcare, education and services as a result.
Add in national insurance, council tax, stamp duty, VAT on everything purchased, and endless other taxes and of my hard-earned income ~65% goes to the taxman. Knowing very well the proportion of that which is wasted – from Jacqui Smith expensing a 550 proverbial kitchen in her sister’s home to needless six-figure annual pensions for civil service paper-pushers, even the most socialist of high earners is likely to complain.
Given all of the above, I’d be curious to see why anyone would want to stay in this hole. If you have friends/family the world’s a small place. With zero tax and next to no crime in Dubai, things almost as good in Singapore, the West Coast of the USA welcoming entrepreneurs with open arms, a job fairly similar to your own in New York and many institutions expanding in Switzerland, now is the time to take action instead of sitting here and moaning.
‘Henry’ graduated from Cambridge University in 2004, and is now a 26 year old Vice President working as an FX trader at a major investment bank. Some of that is not strictly true as he feebly attempts to retain his anonymity (after 7 friends have now figured out who he is), but he is very, very real. He welcomes your hate mail, date proposals, job offers and requests for career advice at henry.efc@googlemail.com
Henry, would you go out with me?
Excellent article with the exception of the last paragraph. Coming back from Singapour and living in Switzerland I can say that unfortunately the job market/opportunities are not much better than elsewhere. Indeed both countries (and even more Dubai) are suffering from the recession. The financial sector is globalized which means that the mess is globalized.
My area is keen but it will take a while to move as the real issue is not if “you” want to move but rather if your “business” is allowed to move. Most people if they could would move soon but the practicality is different-we may move but in 1 -2 years.
Every time i read one of your articles i become more sure that you are not English.. grammar,concepts beliefs…none of them strike me as English…and then i see that both of your Grandfathers lost their lives in WW2…Quick mathematical calculation done…results…blimey…your parents both had you lateish in life…esp for War Babies..surprised that they did not have you in the swinging sixties…deduction…Shame on you Henry using talk of War dead to colour your article.. you sir are a liar and a cheat…..
Note to Sarah..if he cannot prove to you the veracity of his comments..then he should be banned from EFC forthwith
Yes the low incidence of crime in these parts is a welcome change, but surely as self appointed pseudo intellectuals that the bankers are, freedom of expression is something we can value and appreciate. Since when is it walking in a straight jacket considered to be a life choice. I would not recommend anyone to venture out to Dubai or even Singapore solely for tax reasons if you cannot call the shots. Consider far more friendlier destinations like Australia or even to a select few cities in US.
Goodluck
Typo: proverbial kitchen sink* and 6k not 6m. Duh.
I should add that over the last few years I’ve paid nowhere near 40% higher rate tax – however today my wealth advisors said that with the closing of loopholes my tax planning could go to pot here.
Is Henry the new Phil Collins ?
where will you be heading Henry? I want to be your disciple when you reach the promised land!
herny is the light, the salvation, the dogs….
Not too sure about your 6m per citizen debt calculation…(this would give the UK a population of 58,000??)..hope you don’t trade like this…
anyone who is so keen to quantify the numbers involved involved in their comp is clearly lying. End of.
FXboy,
What?
My grandparents had my parents in early 40s.
My parents had me and siblings from their mid 30s to early 40s. I was the last one. Yes, late but nothing too unusual.
Anyone who wants to bail out on Britain now can stay away as far as I am concern… pah call yourself British… leaving when the going gets tough. You may as well be French…
Early 1940s I mean, when they were late 20s / early 30s
Henry, those that have lent recklessly have cost this country over 700 billion. It is no use blaming the witless home owners, they have little to show for their ignorance. The bankers have lined their pockets with our future debt. They have taken the upside, like your 1 million no doubt, and left the inevitable downside to the taxpayer.
Now they want to leave the country because taxes are increasing.
Goodbye.
Henry – Dubai is not a great place to go. The Sheikh may wish to drive his SUV over you if he feels you cheated him (note – referring to Sheikh Issa and his sadistic torturing of a grain dealer – reported widely in US press)
Agree – I will definitely be lookiing to move to Asia (Hong Kong or Singapore). In my job it is very easy. I have already changed 3 countries during my career and the quality of my life in the first two was higher than in the UK. I only came to London for career perspectives and money. If money is no longer there, I do not see any reasons to stay.
Hi all,
I had a chat with my bosses today. They entirely understood. Looks like I’ll be transferred to the Singapore office very shortly. Awesome city for FX. 10% tax. Great food, great people.
:-)
Intersting the way this tosh glosses over the cause of the budget blowout… Did Labour, for all their shortcomings, have a realistic alternative?
Look around the world & you will see most other Govt’s BS’s have also blown out as they also prop up poorly managed Banks. How is the debt to be serviced? Obviously, higher taxes. All foreseeable for months now, hence its suprising there is so much noise on this topic.
Dubai’s economy is in free fall. In Singapore if you dare post such critical comments of the Govt online you will probably find yourself in jail for sedition or at least in court for liable, not too mention the fact there your employer will force pay cuts upon you. Even the US, which is already high tax when all is tallied, is going through a similar process of having to fund an increasing BS whilst its infrastructure crumbles. Scandiland you won’t earn 1m p.a. but you will pay high tax for the benefit of the greater good, which, Henry, you have shown is an anethma to you.
If Henry was someone of character he would put his self proclaimed ‘godlike’ talents to work to fix the situation. The reallity is his greed is little better than the sloth of the masses.
Henry – the marginal income tax rate in Singapore (for earnings over ~ USD 200k) is in fact 20%. In any case, it is a much better deal than the UK. Also apartments are much better (lots of space + everything is very modern), transportation system (MRT) is excellent and you will be 1-2 hours away from the best beaches in the world. I love Singapore:).
I have to agree with this Britons vs foreigners cultural difference. I once entered a business competition, my idea went head to head with a laundry service based in a Uni. I lost because although the judges recognize the upside, my business had a higher probability of going bust. I took the same idea to a panel of American judges, and won. I sometimes wonder if Britain has lost it’s innovative and competitive edge.
“How is the debt to be serviced? Obviously, higher taxes.”
Um, heard of the laffer curve? What about slashing public sector pay?
why don’t all you Brits leave the UK and let us foreign peeps run tings.
For the first time I actually agree with Henry, it’s not the issue of paying the tax thats the problem – it’s the fact that it’s going to be wasted on benefit cheats and ill concieved social experiments by a government that is going to lose the next election. One issue however is where to go? Switzerland is boring, Singapore is oppressively boring and unless you have friends in the right places Dubai is dangerous. The idea of swapping London for NY is pretty stupid too. To be honest, probably going to be best to just suck it up for a year and let the Tories reverse the tax when they get into power (which DC has already hinted at doing)
Henry, would you take lower pay for the same job because your Bank’s finances were in a poor state?
“The idea of swapping London for NY is pretty stupid too.”
Why?
1. Pay less tax.
2. Better quality people in NYC – who love ambition, enterprise and wealth generation.
3. MUCH higher quality girls.
4. Better bars, better restaurants, better VIP clubs. Lovely JAZZ !
Do a Boris Becker. He claimed to be living in Monaco for year’s while living in a house he bought his sister.
I think Henry has just been made redundant…and is laying the foundations for an elaborate cover story…
Switzerland and Singapore are boring? There are large expatriate communities in both countries so you can always make lots of friends and find a million of things to do. I spent 2 and a half years in continental Europe and I have never felt bored. I managed to ski in winter, drive away for weekends in summer (btw – I really miss German autobans!), enjoy good food and take flight lessons after work:). Now I spend 1.5 hours on 2-way commute every single day (which is really boring) and have much less time for things outside of the office:(.
Geneva is dull as ditch water and full of creepy old men accompanied by their ‘neices’.
I’ve worked extensively in London, Dubai and Singapore as well as the East Coast of the US, as well as the Mid-West, and think that Singapore has got to be the most boring city in the world. Fine, Fines and small, smelly apartments. Kuala Lumpur, where I’m based, is probably better. However the traffic here is bad as well.
Other than that, good article. The UK is really a nation of lazy, mediocre people, and there’s little denying that.
nothing new or controversial in what henry wrote. the top 2% is by the very nature of their work extremely relocatable, not just physically but administratively in terms of revenue-homing. this budget (and its consequences/implications) merely creates incentive for them and/or their employers to go to the trouble to do so.
“I’m actually a supporter of progressive tax fundamentally”
In which case you’ve immediately accepted the Left’s social democratic worldview.
You can hardly complain when they then take full advantage of such acquiescence.
I suggest that you read some Austrian School economics and classical liberal political thought.
Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek, Murray Rothbard. Google them to find out more.
Singapore is simply dreadful. Don’t ever go.
Tom H,
You’ve got to use pragmatism not just abide by fundamental principles. Just like in current markets where fundamentals have often been irrelevant and thus thrown out of the window, surely the reality of exodus and revenue loss counteracts a desire to stay true to roots.
The thing about the top 2% is that they are all replaceable. Capitalism thrives on creating disparity. Remove the top 2% and another lot from below will replace them. The top 2% spend much of their time preventing other people replacing them.
In banks they do it by creating proprietary systems, recruiting carbon copies of themselves, hiding information, subverting internal competition, obsfucating models, distorting risk profiles, taking credit for other people’s work, manipulating the system. The list goes on, but rarely, at least in banking, does talent appear anywhere.
So I say, goodbye top 2%. Bye.
Henry,
Thank you for your reply.
If you believe in progressive taxation, then fine. There’s probably not much I can say to change your mind.
My own view is that you weaken your argument from the outset by declaring yourself in favour of progresive taxation. In doing so, you yield whole swathes of territory to the Left. It’s rather like taking a pea-shooter to a gun fight.
The stronger position is to argue against the moral legitimacy of progressive taxation.
Otherwise the Left wins by default, and they will take full advantage to grab as much of your hard earned income as they can get away with. Then they’ll come back for more. Again and again.
Spot on Henry – Join me and David Starkey in taking the executioner’s axe to the neck of messrs Brown, Darling and all of those dreadful Labour women – then move to Abidjan
There are plenty of people who’ll readily agree with progressive taxation until the time comes to pay their fair share.
Robin,
50% on the majority of my earnings is hardly a “fair share” given I get pretty much nothing whatsoever in return!
Surely REGRESSIVE tax makes a lot more sense? Charge poorer people a much higher % tax rate than the rich? Given that its only poor people who use state school education, public hospitals. The rich have private schools, BUPA so don’t get much back from their taxes. Next to nothing. And this would also incentivize people to work a lot harder to get rich, and their wealth wouuld be great for the economy.
Henry, if the majority of your earnings are over the 150k mark, then I do truly feel sorry for you having to pay so much tax on them!!! No, sorry, how can you be so greedy, when the average salary in this country is around 26k and the threshold for 40% tax is only around 33k. Does someone on say, 50k, not work any harder to earn a few extra thou, as 40% goes to the taxman? You are earning many multiples of this, and begrudge an extra 10% to help the country out when in difficulty? That’s very patriotic of you!
Henry, you get a lot in return – you get to stay in this democratic, safe and tolerant country, you get free healthcare, police, roads, defence, and a whole lot more. I think it’s value for money. I’m sure if you want to leave though, we won’t miss you, and someone more deserving can take your job and be happy to pay their whack.
Run, Piggy, run! Things getting a bit tough for you are they? You are lucky there weren’t more Brits like you in 1939 – we wuld all be speaking German. You talk about your grandfathers turning in their graves – are you sure it is not due to their grandson running for the exits when things got a bit hairy? You sir, are an embarrassment, but to be honest, Britain can do without you and your kind if you really are as spineless as you make out. Grow a pair, or get out (preferably the latter….)
I agree that if a few bankers leave, they will not be missed. If it becomes an industry trend, a lot of people will feel the impact.
Take my situation. I am an emerging markets trader. There is no reason whatsoever for me to be based in the UK. I can do my job in Dubai, New York or Hong Kong. However there are lots of people in London supporting my business (middle office/back office/finance/risk/etc). They all receive very decent salaries and pay a fair share of tax. If the bank decides to move my business unit (which they might, given that noone in my team is patriotic enough to pay 50% tax), there will be hundreds of jobs lost.
My case is not unique – most of London bankers do not need to be based in London. And moving is really easy. I’ve done it before and I don’t mind doing it again.
“Henry, you get a lot in return – you get to stay in this democratic, safe and tolerant country, you get free healthcare, police, roads, defence, and a whole lot more”
Most countries are democracies, without UK’s stifling political correctness.
UK is not safe. You have to be kidding.
We’re hardly tolerant, one of the most intolerant countries in the developed world. Intolerance towards foreigners, success, drive…
NHS is awful, everyone I know has to use BUPA.
Police are morons – seen their behaviour during the riots?
Roads – barely use at all. Just to get out of here.
Defence – Ah yes, billions of taxpayers money wasted on the Iraq war against the majority of our wishes.
You can get all the above (minus waste on Iraq war), in other countries, at a much better quality, without a ludicrous 50% tax rate.
“No, sorry, how can you be so greedy, when the average salary in this country is around 26k”
What does the average salary have to do with anything? As others have said, this is an idiot nation of lazy, mediocre people who worship Jade Goody and Kerry Katona, and vilify ambitious people, intellectuals (look at the Gail Trimble story recently). Averages are useless, everyone in my circle’s on 6-7 figures.
Singapore and Germany are probably the most functional places I’ve been. Everything seems perfectly synchronised, like clockwork. Living in Singapore, for me, shouldn’t be a problem as I lived under a military regime in my teens. Besides its a beautiful place, extremely clean, nice beaches. Unfortunately for you Henry, you won’t get to enjoy all these worldly pleasures, as Singaporeans have a fascination with long work days (15hrs is the norm). And I think the restriction of free speech will do you some good – you’ll learn how to be thoughtful in your speech.
Oh, by the way, I am really wondering how people claiming that other countries are “boring” spend their free time. I agree that if you are into clubs and discos, London is the place to be. For people like me (who are into travelling, skiing, reading, French and Thai food, chatting with friends over coffee rather than beer:), there are other great alternatives.
Lis that sounds like a sad life you lead. Coffee over beer? All about beer in the pub!! Watching the football! Ahhh bliss. All you people who don’t like beer GET OUT OF MY COUNTRY!!
Quality post. Totally true about Brits who display jealousy towards high earners but sit on their behind and watch mind-numbing celeb trash or football instead of starting a business..
It is sad that a once great nation is in such decline. The milestones were the destruction of the class system, political correctness and endles futile debates about discrimination.
I cannot believe the trolls that now inhabit what was once the worlds capital.
We simply bet on the wrong things. Liberal mumbo jumbo instead of order, decency and respect.
The progressive nations of the future will not make such mistakes I am sure
Another thing I have never understood…Why does every decent area in London have a stonking great council estate in its midst?
‘Henry’, if that is your real name – you are very welcome to leave. I daresay we have in this country a surplus of Cantabrigians, most of whom end up spending their lives in a deep sense of unease at having acquired an ‘education’ from the UK’s lesser university.
Personally, as a gentleman and a patriot, I shall remain here to battle the forces of political correctness, mindless egalitarianism and class warriors with no class. If you cannot stomach this fight, I suggest you make haste and set up home in some ghastly inferior country.
an interesting and true artticle. Why pay so much tax for nothing in return, and to see the money wasted on losers… ITS TIME TO GET OUT OF HERE!
He may be annoying at times but Henry says what is on most people”s minds. In this instance he is spot on…why pay 50% of your hard earned money to support people who have never and will never work a day in their lives? What do you get in return? NHS? overcrowded tubes? I am amazed at how lazy people in this country are and yet they have so many opportunities to better themselves. A generation is coming up which thinks getting benefits is a career! Who will lead this country then?
“Another thing I have never understood…Why does every decent area in London have a stonking great council estate in its midst”
You raise a very good point.. It’s a deliberate and vindictive policy.
It’s the State’s way of preventing the middle classes from distancing themselves from the social disorder sowed by the State’s welfare and education policies and its lax approach to crime.
In the State’s eyes, we all must suffer the consequences.
Please leave Henry, want me to buy you a one way ticket to Oz? The less people like you in the country the better.
Pay less tax in NY? to live in the city with State/Federal and city Tax all included it’s already 50% and thats before any tax increases on a Federal level – you have to live in CT for lower tax. While the idea that there are better bars and people(?!) is subjective at best I will agree with you on the girls ;-) (if by better quality you mean easier)
Oh yeah and there were 167 murders in London last year – 522 in New York. (Thats more than the whole of the UK combined including N.Ireland)
I dont wanna be Non PC but some of you lot should just go back to your crappy little countries and stop using ours .Be happy enough to pay to send most of you back home….France,italy,Australia,Belgium…
Americans can stay cos although they can be pretty stupid with those ridiculously straight teeth and even worse suits ..at least they tend to “play” on our side
Well said Michael (above) and well done for having a beautiful english name !! cant stay too long as got 5 a side and then entertaining the Admin team…Beer for the boys and a glass of wine for the Ladies…should be a corker !!
I think a lot of you wouldn’t be happy wherever you go, it seems the incessant desire to create money has you all completely and utterly deluded.
Does it really bother you that much if someone reads about Jade Goody? Does it affect you so much that you have to leave the country?
They enjoy their lives, why not try and enjoy yours?
“Does it really bother you that much if someone reads about Jade Goody? Does it affect you so much that you have to leave the country?”
In a word, yes
“What is honoured in a country will be cultivated there” Plato
We are becoming a trash nation hooked on footballers and celebrity D listers. Our symbols are wrong, our nation is lost
Jimbo – you should probably start with applying your own advice to yourself. Henry might be bothered with people reading about Jade Goody but you sound very bothered with people making money and refusing to give away 50% of their hard earned cash to a tax man. Doesn’t look very consistent, does it?
Nonsense, go to France, Belgium, Spain…you ll be hated if you make more money than your neighbours. UK is a great place to be an entrepreneur and make money. It takes a second and 2 to create a company, try to do that on the continent…
Of course for that you have to work hard and not hiding behind the comfort of a bank’s desk complaining about a country who provided you with a good education and healhcare…
Totally agree with FXboy, maybe “accidentally” born in England, but nothing more.
Good day,
What an appalling (and obviously fictional) story!
I get the money, get rewarded for risks I am not bearing, and I run with the tail between my legs as soon as things get rough… Nice morale Mr “I made my 1st million at 25″ (yeah right!).
Truly sad.
@Louis Cyphre: The Plato qoute is quite apt! We have kids wanting to be nothing more in life than WAGs or page 3 “models”. The boys think only of becoming footballers, the few that attempt uni study beauty, hairdressing, media etc etc. Look at the number of NEETS in the country. Somebody will pay dearly for this lost generation and if one has the option to run away from a mess they did not create but were forced to pay for then they should!
“Henry, you get a lot in return – you get to stay in this democratic, safe and tolerant country, you get free healthcare, police, roads, defence, and a whole lot more”
Since when is the UK a democratic country? I dare you!! Try opening your mouth and speaking freely!! Oops, you might end up in prison!!
Why are you all banging on about France, Belgium, Spain? Screw the whole Eurozone (except maybe Monaco) – I mentioned SINGAPORE, USA, DUBAI in my article. Lots here looking at Hong Kong.
Well said Henry, just waiting on the visa and I’m off to Canada, the UK has nothing left.
Goodbye and good riddance!
On a slightly off-topic subject, I’m a bit wary of growing old in a country where the most popular boys name is one of the variants of Muhamed! Our councils along with the government with the aid of Europe seem hell-bent on ‘ethnicising’ parts of the UK. May or may not be true but that’s the perception even before you read the right-leaning tabloids.
Henry, you sound like a stuck-up little prat – who probably needs a good ass-kicking.
You are, however, correct in that the UK sucks – BIG TIME!
Have a nice day.
My view as a foreigner who really like Albion is that the problems come from the over dependance to the financial sector. Historically the country has been a great industrial country… nothing is left. Hence when the financial sector is in trouble the whole country suffer and penalising the bankers will only make them leave the country making everybody worst off. The problem is not the bankers, but the lack of diversification of the Albion’s economy which is the results of 20 years of bad politics. However nobody asked Thatcher, Major or Blair to give their salary back :-)
Off you go. we don’t need you here. Cambridge? You’re a disgrace
Henry is a recruitment agent…….
Henry, poor little boy, someone took away your toys and now it’s time to cry? Wake up, son, let me tell you something: Yes, Singapore is a tax heaven, compared to the UK. BUT don’t even think that live is that much cheaper, the pint costs 8 pounds, food, rent, travel, ultilities etc are expensive. IF the UK was that bad, if the NHS was such a bad thing, if council buidlings in central London were so disturbing, if English girls were so ugly – why couldn’t you see all this during the times of prosperity? I love London and I think it is the most beautiful city in the world, the UK as such is a wonderful country – and that comes from a German!
So, you want to leave the UK, you want to leave the European Union. Well, it is democratic syztem, your decision. However, I do think that you should factor on, what you give up. Is it culturally rich in Dubai as it is in London, can you speak freely in Singapore as you can do in London? You sound to me like one of these slimy, obnoxious, pretentious social climbers who live there live as it was a shopping list and you just have to tick boxes. Thank god I have none like you in my circle of friends. PS: Can it be that Henry = EFC editors?
Henry
Not sure how you calculate you would be paying less tax in NYC. Federal+state tax is already very high and they are also looking at hiking tax for high earners.
Anyway, I agree with your sentiments. I left the UK more than 2 years ago to head for Hong Kong. Originally it was purely for a better job and I saw it as a short stint. Now I doubt I will come back. Although there are many downsides to the city and to life as an expat, it is a far more agreeable environment to live and work. Success is applauded here. You can wear a nice watch without fear of getting mugged. I can park my Porsche on any street in the city and am far more likely to return to find someone taking a photo of it rather than keying it as I would in the UK. Things work here. People take pride in their jobs and the services they provide. What’s more there is a sense of communtiy in this city state, a sense that the success of Hong Kong’s residents necessarily relies on the success of the city as a whole in competition with the other Asian financial centres.
One bit of advice however, never ever consider living in Dubai (a busted flush), and try to avoid Singy (one of the most boring places in the world)
While Henry clearly irritates many and may look back at some of his more boastful posts with some embarrassment in the future, he raises a valid point:
50% marginal tax is clearly in the straw-that-breaks-the-camels-back territory, which is probably why so few countries have marginal tax rates at that level. If Henry is a 1m earning FX dealer, his relocation is going to cost the chancellor well over 400,000 a year, as well as the extra stimulus that the rest of his expenditure generates.
Someone earning 200,000 p/a who does not relocate will now be paying an extra 5,000 p/a, so we will need 80 of those to just replace Henry’s earnings. In reality, the rise in tax to 50% will generate very little extra revenue and may actually end up costing the government money.
As an IT contractor, IR35 in 2000 brought in 50% tax, but it was only for a minority, so nobody cared. But I left the country then, as handing over half your income to the Inland Revenue means it’s not worth working…
Now that 50% tax is being applied at 150K, how many more people will leave?
15% top rate of tax in Hong Kong means you actually get to keep the money you earn.
Wholistic, I cannot agree Singapore is more expensive than London. You can rent a really nice 2-bedroom apartment (>1,000 sq ft) in Marina Bay area for 2,000-2,500. In fact, these days you can even get a better deal, because rental prices are going down. Food is very affordable and transport (MRT and taxis) is cheap. Cars are indeed expensive (and so is petrol) but the difference in income tax rate more than compensates for that.
I generally like London as well but it is just not good value for money. As for the freedom of speech, yes, you can criticise the government but god forbid you not be politically correct. Also, UK has the larget number of CCTVs per person in the whole world. … Can we really say we live in a democracy?
The concept of freedom makes me laugh.
The majority of people on this web site have no control over:
1) The hours they work
2) Where they work
3) What they wear
4) When they can eat
5) How they speak
6) When they can take holidays
7) Their income (taxation?)
Oh yeah, you get to do all this in your “free time”.
Clearly this is not just a UK problem but democracy is in the eye of the beholder
attaboy Louis! you do show sparks of intelligence, the concept of freedom, what a great sham
Wholistic,
I don’t actually mind if the expenditure / cost of living is (nearly) as much in other countries. Its the PRINCIPLE that here half my earnings are being wasted away by the government. The inefficiency that its not on creating outstanding public services that you have in Scandinavia, but funding 4 million layabouts too fat/lazy to get a job.
London taxes will be much higher than NYC. Income tax, national insurance, VAT, council tax, stamp duty etc could bring me over 70% for the majority of my earnings now!
I think you’d have to be a bit of a monkey to end up paying 70% of your earnings in tax. Even on the part of your income above the 150k threshold, if you got taxed on this at 50% income tax + 1% NI and then you spent all that was left on items with VAT, you would only have paid away 59.575% to the exchequer. You would then have to sell these items second hand and allow the proceeds to be taxed again a few times by the inland revenue to get to 70%. Is this what you are planning?
Children being scanned for knives on their way to school??
And this from a nation who, for centuries, kept law and order with an unarmed police force.
Naturally we were all too right wing then. I am glad that we have a better, more liberal society now. we have all opened our minds and are now free to watch endless glorified violence and aggression on TV, denegrate the role of parenting, create ghettos of disenfranchised immigrants and wholly concern ourselves with ourselves.
I agree with the idea that if you would be shouted at for getting payed too well in the UK, you would be stoned to death in Belgium and France in a similar situation.
Do all come to Luxembourg. Nice, quiet, dynamic little place where much is still to be done. The top tax rate is also quite reasonable at 38%.
Apart from the maths, not a bad summary, and a lot of comment.
I would leave the country as well, if I could afford it, but where is better? So the solution seems to be get into a civil service job on a final salary scheme, and watch the private sector that will support me (as they generate income for UK PLC) descend into oblivion.
UK Politics stink, so a change of Government will hardly make a difference.
Come on, you’re not seriously suggesting that Singapore is the answer? The place that BANNED chewing gum, doesn’t say much for their sense of freedom.
“Come on, you’re not seriously suggesting that Singapore is the answer? The place that BANNED chewing gum, doesn’t say much for their sense of freedom.”
Excellent. Chewing gum should be banned. Look at every pavement in the UK, it has permanent ugly chewing gum marks. It can ruin your clothes if you accidentally sit on it, morons leave it lying around. Why have chewing gum when there’s mints etc?
“Why have chewing gum when there’s mints etc?”
wtf? listen to yourself you idiot.
The assumption that Singapore/HK/Dubai will be so much better than the UK sounds like ‘grass is greener’ mentality to me. Also, I believe there is some merit in those comments criticising your un-patriotic stance. I’ve lived in all of the aforementioned locations and they all have their downsides. Singapore really is dull, unless you love golf or can be entertained by big-brand shopping for the rest of your life. Very few places have as strong a culture or arts scene as the UK – so Henry, if shopping in G*cci stores all day and playing golf every weekend is what really interests you, then yes you probably will enjoy the life and the extra cash more. It will also mean that you are little better than the shallow Kerry Katona’s of this world whom you supposedly despise so much.
I’m fed up with this mess and am evaluating options abroad.