It may not be “Super Tax”, Mikey (I’m not quite sure of its definition) but it is certainly extortionate.
Nobody should pay half their income to the government however much they are paid. And also bear in mind that Income Tax is only part of the story. There is now no upper limit on National Insurance deductions.. Someone earning £150,000 now sees (under this year’s rates and allowances) more than £59,800 deducted from their pay - a tad under 40%. Any pound over that sum that they earn will see them left with just 53p (45% Income Tax and 2% NI will be lost). If Mr Balls gets his way that will reduce to 48p.
By contrast, somebody on £30,000 per year (by no means a fortune) will see around £4,600 in deductions - about 15%. So the well paid are already making a hugely disproportionate contribution to the nation’s coffers and now it is suggested that 52% of any additional money they are paid goes towards the government’s profligacy. Fair? I think not.
As I said in my earlier post such a strategy might be justified (though I would argue that it is not) if the Exchequer needed more funds. But he does not.
No, I don’t think this particular proposal will drive anybody from the country, Jake (apart from those already considering leaving for the myriad other reasons I can think of). But it will see little revenue gained and may in fact result in a net loss. And nobody here (or in the Labour Party) has managed to explain why 40% was sufficient for all but three weeks of Labour’s 13 years in office but suddenly 45% is now far too low.