Do you know your tax burden for the last tax year?

michaels

Tax plus NI = 28% in March - I guess I get 5% back as child benefit.

But then there is always car tax, VAT (inc on domestic energy), fuel duty, stamp duty, capital gains tax etc etc.

JP08

Ouch - PAYE and NI 32.2%. The missus matched the OP at 29.2%

I win (or rather, lose !). Don't even get the CB as a) 'they' were taking it back again anyhow, and b) she's now over 18 and no longer at home.

And that little lot is before VAT, fuel duty and all the rest of it.

thequant

ukcarper wrote: »

That's the trouble its very difficult if not impossible to reduce tax if you are employed on PAYE while it seems very easy for self employed and company directors to do it. One case I know company director earns minimum wage while paying his employees more.

Difficult but impossible, various methods utilise

Pensions, VCT's, EIS, SEIS, Gift aid, etc

One of the methods I read about involved, using a sipp to buy some of the asests above (VCT/EIS/SEIS).

If done correctly, you can not only bring your rate down to zero on the money you are "investing", but you can actually turn your tax rate negative.

Graham_Devon

danothy wrote: »

Last tax year 29.2% of my income went to the government via various taxes. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about that. Did I get off lightly?

Depends entirely on what you have got, or get out of it in later life.

Quite a valid point raised on the TV the other day when talking about the election and reduced taxes. One person was stating they pay too much tax. However, that person also admitted he made a lot of use of the NHS after heart problems (which aren't cheap issues).

So how much he put in should be viewed in how much he got out.

Hip operation on the NHS? Well you've just taken back 8k of tax expenditure. Walked around the park? Taken your kids to the park? It all adds up.

I'm as guilty as the rest, but we appear to forget what we take out as it's easier to blissfully ignore than the figure on paper of what's been taken.

ukcarper

thequant wrote: »

Difficult but impossible, various methods utilise

Pensions, VCT's, EIS, SEIS, Gift aid, etc

One of the methods I read about involved, using a sipp to buy some of the asests above (VCT/EIS/SEIS).

If done correctly, you can not only bring your rate down to zero on the money you are "investing", but you can actually turn your tax rate negative.

Good if you have enough spare cash.

Loughton_Monkey

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Depends entirely on what you have got, or get out of it in later life........

....

So how much he put in should be viewed in how much he got out.........

Not totally true.

My medical costs, and education costs were paid by my father's generation. I thank them for it.

My pension and current health costs are paid by the two generations below me, now working. I thank them for it.

When I was working, however, I never had a day off ill, never had any further education (at taxpayer cost anyway) and yet I had to pay a shed-load to support my father's generation and the two generations below me.

The former is fine by me. It's the latter that troubles me. Paying all that money, for all those years, and what do we get in return? Thanks? No. Just a load of miserable, whinging jealous mis-truths claiming that we 'had it better'. Seems that when the free 'education' was being dished out, they were somewhere else getting a second helping of pure ignorance.

BobQ

BobQ wrote: »

Was that with or without an accountant's tax avoidance advice?

Generali wrote: »

You mean following the rules on taxation that the Government puts in place regarding things like ISAs and pensions.

I manage to save for old age without the advice of an accountant. If you struggle to do the same perhaps you should visit the investment board.

danothy wrote: »

I don't make use of an accountant. Are you assuming I have avoided paying some tax?

Some people seem to be very sensitive!

I was merely looking at what the OP had posted without any other information and trying to envisage how he had reached 30% tax and why he was asking the question.

Tax avoidance is perfectly legal.

BobQ

thequant wrote: »

If anyone is paying over 20% then you are paying too much!

Or you are on PAYE and unable to avail yourself of many of the options available to self employed etc

danothy

BobQ wrote: »

Some people seem to be very sensitive!

Is that a yes or a no?

kabayiri

The best err "scheme" I came across, adopted by some IT contractors I know, involved Umbrella companies offering to give you 90% of your gross.

It was a scam basically, where you didn't receive salary but a loan every month. The Umbrella company was often based in Isle of Man or Jersey. The idea was that if the TaxMan went after the company, then the company would just fold with a load of creditors.

I think this loophole was closed. It seems the taxman doesn't like having their nose rubbed in it in public. The bigger scale scams operated by large telecomm companies for example, well ... as long as they keep them hushed...that's okay.