We would say we are surprised. But we aren’t.
Alistair Darling has announced a new top tax rate of 50% for those earning more than £150,000 from next April.
The chancellor unveiled the measure after delivering a stark Budget report on the state of the UK economy.
He said debt would hit a record £175bn this year and the economy shrink 3.5% – its worst performance since 1945.
This isn’t just some punish the bankers spanking tax, mind you, but a broad sweep. Imagine working for the government until the summer solstice. (You people in California and New York can skip this assignment). Then imagine gasoline is $9.00 per gallon and over 80% of that is tax.
How much of this do we think the UK can take?
Darling Unveils 50% Top Tax Rate [BBC News]
You work half the year for the govt then fork over 9% for national insurance as well. Fucking A.
RIP London, financial capital of the world
Mind you, people here have an option of skipping town to Geneva or Monaco. Your Yank asses are fucked anywhere in the world.
Britain doesn’t even have an elected leader at the moment.
Your wife is a sasquatch, Gus.
They can take a monarchy. What happened to all the loot from the old colonial days?
I want what’s comintome
@1 – “You work half the year for the govt then fork over 9% for national insurance as well. Fucking A.”
Add in the 14% that goes to Social Security, various excise taxes, states taxes, real estate taxes and ad valorem taxes and THEN stop and think that government deficits are out of control because governments can’t stop spending like drunken idiots.
He’s also cut pension contribution relief for those earning 150k+ so you can’t even avoid tax by saving for your pension!
And he cut personal exemptions for those earning over 100K.
I sense…an election. Or (politically) dead people. Or both.
And he cut personal exemptions for those earning over 100K.
I see…an election. Or (politically) dead people. Or both.
Well, when the best and brightest fuck the financial world, what should one expect? If you want to keep taxes where they are, don’t fuck the financial world beyond recognition.
I think I just saw the GBP jump off the building.
@2, our economy will have been growing for at least a year and a half before you and yours (ex France and Germany) see any glimmer of an upturn.
BTW, Geneva and Monaco? Are you serious? Take a siesta and get back to me when your head is right.
And this is why Britain was wasting away with no growth and no one wanting to be entrepreneurial until Thatcher cut taxes. Who is John Galt?
12,
Jesus fucking christ. For the love of humanity, please shut your television off.
This will only get worse- for employees.
The answer is simple, start your own firm. Even if that means as a contractor. The reality is that when expected bonuses are less than 100%, your biggest arb is tax at 50%.
And he cut personal exemptions for those earning over 100K.
I see…an election. Or (politically) dead people. Or both.
I still don’t understand it. If they want the economy to grow why are they raising taxes 10%? Perhaps they shouldn’t give people £1000 to get rid of their old cars.
Lowly…didn’t your therapist tell you that if you get your Ben-Gay and Preparation H mixed up that your shoulder would shrink and your asshole would…..oh, never mind, you can take that up at your next sexual addiction group meeting.
At least the UK has hot chicks.
Hahahahahaha.
And he cut personal exemptions for those earning over 100K.
I see…an election. Or (politically) dead people. Or both.
20,
What does that have to do with anything?
It’s only 50% of income over £150k, it was already 40% over £36k or so. Way to Fox News the numbers everybody.
I see…someone who went crazy with the Post Comment button.
And he cut personal exemptions for those earning over 100K.
I see…an election. Or (politically) dead people. Or both.
Why did no one mention this?
Alcohol duties will go up by 2% – about 1p a pint – from midnight. There will be an increase in tobacco duty of 2% from 6pm – adding about 7p to a packet of 20 cigarettes. Mr Darling said these measures will raise more than £6bn by 2012.
WTF?
@ 25 — Oh I see, it’s only half of what you earn over GBP150k — that’s fair.
Legalizing theft doesn’t make it right.
I wonder is someone sees an election…or possibly politically dead people.
@21, what do you call an attractive girl in London?
A tourist
GO LABOUR!!!!!!!!!
CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN!
There is no financial crisis and we’ll all be OK after taxes are lowered.
~Cleavon Schrumm
Padded Cell #12
State Hospital
Clouded View, MN
@28
Saw that (and cried, seriously, my sympathies to my cross-pond cohorts), and couldn’t help but think of the enormous opportunities it presents for “underground” type places. Anyone with local experience/knowledge wanna make moves?
Most of the Mayfair hedge funds don’t use Monaco and Switzerland. They use Jersey and the Channel Islands. At the HF where I worked, the annual bonus was 100% TAX FREE for non-American citizens. So don’t feel too sorry for your UK counterpart. They will do just fine.
Natives now soliciting American colonists to come over and dump some lager and fags into the Thames near Westminster Bridge and send the ruling party packing.
@28
By that time all the fools who are in the bar are too drunk to understand and smoking in good ol’ Europa is much more prevalent than America. Can’t say I care if you can’t control your drinking habits
Did he cut personal exemptions for those earning over 100K? Does anyone see an election? Or (politically) dead people? Or both? Anyone? Anyone at all?
Bernie Madoff justed off’d himself – punk
12 Your ignorance is astoundingly impressive in its vastness and quantity.
~the Muleskinner~
@30 Maybe both?
25 = 12
Idiots. All they know how to do is tax and spend. Brown is a fool. Look at the idiot talk here. Disgusting.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1172303/The-bizarre-Brown-video-PM-wants-replace-MPs-expenses–25-000-year-just-turning-up.html
@37
In what language was that comment, because it certainly doesn’t make any sense in English.
At what you call “Stonehenge” ( we called it “Lorcymruuught”) my Lord would tax the bereaved attendees at the Summer’s High Point over the 8th arch, a skull cap of fermented beverage we called “shyllis” and require a maiden to exchange a “favor” (you call it a “rub and tug”) to learn the way of the Shyboth (you call him a “trader” or “banker”) and, truth be told, all my Lord really said was, “Acquire at a lower price than you would sell…” Later we’d sit around and piss ourselves laughing as hard as possible at our tricks and from time to time some wind was broken much to my Lord’s dismay.
~Clarth, Son of Ryllicth
4th Seer in Training
Stonehenge
I hear if you’re fed up with taxes from the king you can just refuse to pay them, dump a bunch of goods in the water, start a war and then you become awesome. If memory serves, I think there’s a precedent for that.
I AM NOT GAY.
It’s time to colonize a new planet.
@ 46 — That’s nice and all, until the State regrows itself into an even larger leviathan.
http://www.mises.org/store/Left-The-Right-and-The-State-The-P550.aspx?AFID=14
@12 your inability to pay your fucking mortgage is what has fucked the system you stupid shit.
This is particularly infuriating coming from Labour, who spent the last 10 years turning the UK into a ridiculous tax haven for hyper wealthy foreigners. Had they adopted reasonable rules re: non-doms years ago, they would have had more than sufficient funds to weather the crisis.
@35, your claim of 100% white income sounds a little spurious and, irrespective of the structure, not without significant tax risk (just ask the loads of bank employees who found themselves making payments to the Inland Revenue for the plethora of non-dom schemes that didn’t work). Would be curious as to exactly how it was structured.
@45 – Easy on the shylliss there big guy
Gasoline SHOULD be $9 per gallon. It makes up for the negative externalities associated with driving and funding all those highways.
Take mass transit, don’t live in the suburbs. Simple solutions.
@50 – Wow, Debbie Downer, it was a joke, way to ruin it. Do you also enjoy telling children Santa doesn’t exist?
Guest@#51…
The inability to pay mortgages is just the faint breeze that blew the f’n house of cards down.
You (not 12) are the one who is the “stupid shit”.
The Guy from Delaware
Shock horror, Darling is incompetent and stupid piece of dog turd. I’m unlikely to earn 150k ever but when my offspring (following fornication with an intellgient chick) grow up they’ll be screwed. YEAH taxes.
I see a BNP seat increase at the next election cycle.
Best news for NYC in a long time.
@2 dual citizenship biatch
@57
TGFD you never worked in finance and you live (at 60 years old, yes) still in your mothers basement and wouldn’t recognized a mortgage if it was giving you a blowjob..
@57 backoffice
this a really bad idea – london, with property prices 2x NY, isnt such an attractive place to live in the first place..
@52
It was structured so that the London employees all officially worked for a Bahamas holding company that provided professional services back to the Mayfair hedge fund. Annual bonuses were paid out of Jersey and were 100% TAX FREE for non-Americans. Human Resources (the Wideclops) were based out of Jersey. Employee orientation was out of Jersey. Human resources would fly into London to fire or discipline employees. My boss claimed Irish ancestry 2 or 3 generations back and worked under an Irish passport. The British hedge fund guys know all the tricks. So don’t weep for them.
@64
he wish
@59
stories like yours make tears well up in my eyes. apparently the lower class is still strugling…
then maybe property prices will no longer be 2x NY. You might also consider that the strength of the pound has historically been a large part of the reason for that. And that the recent weakening has eroded the differential in property prices significantly.
@66
uhh at what kind of hedge fund does a professional get disciplined or fired by HR? HR is support staff – you, are hopefully not…
Guest@#63…
Your lame attempt at insulting TGFD makes you sound even dumber than your friend @#51. Maybe you are #51.
The Guy from Delaware
@69 probably – how many sq feet do you get at a nice location in NY for $3k/month these days?
59 Or maybe improve regional transit. Part of the reason why houses are so expensive in Bronxville is that the commute is a breeze. Opposite is true in many parts of NJ, which are actually closer to NYC but not as accessible.
what came first.. the government or the worker?
I love how no one else is catching the Eddie Murphy references. Well played Bess. Well played #4
@71
you are right i’m sorry. So,how many sq feet do you get at a nice location in your mother’s basement for $3k/month these days?
Guests@#64 & #67…
TGFD doesn’t want to be backoffice or f’n front office either, for that matter.
The Guy from Delaware
UMFUFU!!!
But naked on a zebra, bone through her nose, with the biggest fucked up afro you have ever seen!
@70
I think it was the tax structure, everything had to go through HR outside the UK. When my co-worker sent a sexist e-mail insulting the office girls, HR flew in just to give him a warning.
@79
that’s wideclopse paradise right there..
I love how no one else is catching the Eddie Murphy references. Well played Bess. Well played #4
@2: And we STILL make more than you ever will post-taxes!
At this point, even the Queen has probably dusted off her German passport to declare herself a non-dom.
I’m a wage arbitrageur. What’s a TCS?