sherlock
Well-known member
Agreed.
Simple question for me is whether it’s fair that one person earning £70k pays a chunk of tax at 40% whereas two people in a household earning £40k pay no 40% tax at all.
I don’t think it is.
Last edited:
What do you consider a good salary?
- Thread starter alvez_49
- Start date
Agreed.
Simple question for me is whether it’s fair that one person earning £70k pays a chunk of tax at 40% whereas two people in a household earning £40k pay no 40% tax at all.
I don’t think it is.
afcb_acklam
Well-known member
I'm self-employed, just paid small mortgage off.... earn about 20k a year. I find all these salaries eye-watering, just glad I don't have the sort of lifestyle that needs to earn big bucks, took a decision many years ago to spend little, have an easier life.
18MFC76
Well-known member
Even with a pay rise or two it's still a good position to be in as the 40% tax rate only applies to earnings above the threshold (which for this tax year is £50,271). As someone else mentioned you're in a far better position bringing this level of income in as a couple and both of your incomes only being taxed at 40% above the threshold as opposed to a single parent earning the same amount as your combined income however getting taxed 40% on a large proportion of that.
NYboro
Well-known member
A far greater problem is the mega rich paying 20% capital gains tax.
18MFC76
Well-known member
Is anyone else a little surprised with how many people have posted their salary details on here? I don't think that was the intention of the original poster or at least I hope it wasn't.
Personally, myself and my wife are fairly comfortable with 2 kids and live in a nice area. I wouldn't be posting our income on here though and it's not even something I would really discuss with close friends. Maybe it's just how I was brought up and other people are more open about these sorts of things? There will be people on here who will be really struggling in a current cost of living crisis. Just out of respect for those people I wouldn't be posting salary details and how the bank balance is coming along etc.
Personally, myself and my wife are fairly comfortable with 2 kids and live in a nice area. I wouldn't be posting our income on here though and it's not even something I would really discuss with close friends. Maybe it's just how I was brought up and other people are more open about these sorts of things? There will be people on here who will be really struggling in a current cost of living crisis. Just out of respect for those people I wouldn't be posting salary details and how the bank balance is coming along etc.
Juninhoburger
Well-known member
I earn more than 25k a year and less than 40.
It's enough to keep my kids fed and our mortgage paid.
It's enough to keep my kids fed and our mortgage paid.
The_Lizards_Jumpers
Well-known member
Making discussing your salary as "taboo" is just a trick by companies to suppress wages, when in fact wage transparency should be standard. If you dont know what everyone else is getting then you can't complain that you're underpaid, which suits companies just fine.
Obviously websites like Glassdoor have changed that sightly, but why should you be embarrassed to reveal what you earn ? People will happily talk about their weight, their health, their relationships etc but somehow wages are still a taboo subject.
Support Your Local Team
Active member
It is a thread specifically about salaries so people will post specifics and others will be more vague.
Also, in order to make a better fist at answering the initial question, a range of contexts and situations will need to be examined. Not everyone will want to add specifics (and that's fine) but some won't mind at all. Personally, I shared my our salaries as I never see it as a competition and nobody on here knows who I am.
Detailed specifics are personal choice but they do add to the discussion whether you would choose to do it or not.
18MFC76
Well-known member
You obviously see it completely differently to me and fair enough that's your opinion. Like you say it's fairly easy to find out what people roughly earn in a particular role with sites like Glassdoor/indeed etc and if you want to find that information out it's there for you. On a football forum for a team that is in a deprived area of the country. Hearing someone say they're struggling when they're on a very respectable salary might not be what some people need to hear right now. I think one person's interpretation of struggling can be very different to another's so I'm a little mindful of that, that's all.
The_Lizards_Jumpers
Well-known member
I'm not talking about this post, but in general - people are unwilling to discuss salaries which only suits employers - if discussing salaries was normalized, then everyone would have a much better idea what a "decent" salary is.
r00fie1
Well-known member
There isnt really a consistent answer to the question.
If you live in London or the South East, the cost of a roof over your head is astronomical. If you live in other parts of the country the cost of property and rent is relatively low in comparison, but there are whole regions where wages and salaries are depressed. That means people are still no better off in terms of quality of life or of having higher disposable incomes.
If you live in London or the South East, the cost of a roof over your head is astronomical. If you live in other parts of the country the cost of property and rent is relatively low in comparison, but there are whole regions where wages and salaries are depressed. That means people are still no better off in terms of quality of life or of having higher disposable incomes.
Sheriff_John_Bunnell_ret
Well-known member
Well this is because a good chunk of the population won't be able to afford retirement and an old age. Mortgages and rent are too high for many people to have a future.
Our situation is I am the sole income for our family - wife and baby.
I earn well and know I am lucky, but it doesn't go as far as you might expect, especially these days.
We have a modest 3 bed semi, a new car but nothing fancy, a basic sky package and go on a holiday once a year - a nice lifestyle for sure, but nothing fancy and realistically this is, I think, what most people might target when starting out.
If this was all we had to consider then we would be extremely comfortable - but factoring in savings (for emergencies etc) and pensions for the both of us, and some savings for our kid, we aren't exactly rolling in it and have definitely felt the pinch in the last 12 months - shopping, energy and mortgage have added an extra £500-700 to our month bills
I really feel for people who were already struggling this last year - it's a terrible position to be in as a country I think
hobblewobble
Active member
It looks most of you are doing ok-
In 2023, average regular pay (excluding bonuses) has grown by an average of 6.6% from January to April 2023. Maintaining this growth could see the average UK salary reach £29,588 in 2023. This is a £1,832 increase from the median salary of £27,756 as of 2022.
if the average is £29000 that means a large proportion will be under that and a lot of you are struggling on £45000+
as my wife says (i shake my head in despair)
In 2023, average regular pay (excluding bonuses) has grown by an average of 6.6% from January to April 2023. Maintaining this growth could see the average UK salary reach £29,588 in 2023. This is a £1,832 increase from the median salary of £27,756 as of 2022.
if the average is £29000 that means a large proportion will be under that and a lot of you are struggling on £45000+
as my wife says (i shake my head in despair)
BaronSmoggie
Well-known member
I am in a single income household, my wife is a full time mum to our disabled daughter. We are in a good position financially as I earn north of 70K a year. However, the decision we made to move South has seriously degraded our ability to save and look at early retirement. Where you live is just as important as what you earn. If we had remained on Teesside, we would have been much better off.
Money these days just doesn't seem to go as far as it used to.
I've repeatedly stated on the thread that it's not about what people personally earn I've even implored people to let the thread die.
The intention was to make people think about what you need to earn to be considered earning a decent wage given the devaluation of the currency we earn over the past decades initially through house price inflation from the early 00's to today and then the cherry on top two years of massive CPI.
I'd never dream of putting my household or even single income on here for all the reasons you mentioned.
It's shown me a level of ignorance on the board honestly. This is a 'lefty' place but just bringing the topic up in general had everyone in comparison mode straight away!
BaronSmoggie
Well-known member
Its providing context to life experience. It doesn't feel like willy waving.