zlacker

[return to "VPN use surges in UK as new online safety rules kick in"]
1. zapthe+zf[view] [source] 2025-07-28 05:54:54
>>mmaria+(OP)
Basically every new law, piece of news or media I see coming from the UK paints a picture of a beat-down, cynical & scared society that's complacent to or in support of increasing surveillance and control by the government. Like maybe Adolescence or basically any mention of the NHS. The crimes they cite like child grooming or terrorism/hate being incited sound pretty terrible too, but I wonder why the UK specifically is taking action - is the issue bigger there, or are they just more aware of and willing to act on it.
◧◩
2. cs02rm+Cm[view] [source] 2025-07-28 07:05:59
>>zapthe+zf
The UK is becoming increasingly authoritarian in ways that feel increasingly antagonistic to the majority of the population, regardless of political party. Taxes are rising (with tax take falling), crimes are going unchecked, just mentioning increased immigration gets a lot of people's backs up, but as GDP per capita continues to stall and even fall, the pressure it puts on services is a factor for many. And we're seeing those with a few quid to rub together leave, but as long as those people leaving are straight, white males, or their families, they're being told "good riddance" regardless of the brain drain and loss of tax income.

On the NHS, I tried for years to push for improvements to switch to digital cancer screening invitations after they missed my mother (offering to build the software for free), which is now happening, but suggesting the NHS isn't perfect is against the religion here. My sister who works in NHS DEI hasn't spoken to me since publishing a book on it.

Every time someone with the finances, vision and ability leaves I think the situation gets a little bit worse, it increases the proportion of people remaining willing to put up with all of it. Anecdotally, many of my friends have already left, some of the older generation want to leave but feel tied in. My flight out is in 6 weeks. Good riddance, no doubt.

◧◩◪
3. areofo+R51[view] [source] 2025-07-28 13:49:00
>>cs02rm+Cm
> Taxes are rising (with tax take falling)

> just mentioning increased immigration

One of these seems like the solution to the other.

> as long as those people leaving are straight, white males, or their families, they're being told "good riddance" regardless of the brain drain and loss of tax income

Having UK work experience and having talked to thousands of british folks over a decade, I find this hard to believe.

I started working with folks from the UK right at the start when social media really took off, and I personally think that what ails the UK is the same as what ails the world. Too much social media.

The UK has always been an empire in decline, but the wheels didn't come off until everyone became glued to feeds. It's Garbage In, Garbage Out. If your view of reality is driven by stuff that you see online, it's a distorted lens which then leads to distorted decision making that then leads to authoritarian creep.

Just my 2¢.

◧◩◪◨
4. alias_+go1[view] [source] 2025-07-28 15:46:11
>>areofo+R51
> Having UK work experience and having talked to thousands of british folks over a decade, I find this hard to believe

I only have to look as far as my own wallet to see the effects. I'm being taxed to the eyeballs while there is a glass ceiling preventing me taking any more pay home without a major jump which just isn't coming due to stupid tax rules keeping the working class from bumping into the middle class.

I see mine and my family's living standards drop only to be told by the news that I'm a likely target for more tax hikes, and there's just no room to tax me more while my bills have also gone up significantly, and something will have to give. If it gets to the point where I can't pay my bills despite being a "high earner" I'll have to start considering whether I leave with my family, and where to.

I'm not exactly the milky bar kid, but I imagine beyond my friends and family, I imagine the consensus would be very much the same, yet there goes two "successful" professionals and the children we were raising probably to be high earning professionals too.

I don't do social media, but I do keep on top of the news from all outlets, I try to look beyond the biases and form an opinion on a combination of sources.

◧◩◪◨⬒
5. octo88+1p1[view] [source] 2025-07-28 15:50:44
>>alias_+go1
> taxed to the eyeballs

Emotional phrases aside, what is your total NI + income tax deduction percentage, and what percentage do you think you should be paying?

◧◩◪◨⬒⬓
6. alias_+is1[view] [source] 2025-07-28 16:12:32
>>octo88+1p1
The problem isn't the percentage, it's that there are tax traps where earning a single penny more end up in you taking home thousands less, then you hit a marginal tax bands of 60%+, and suddenly you have to earn tens of thousands more just to break even.

They're well known an documented, but I'm sure you know that already.

◧◩◪◨⬒⬓⬔
7. Sketch+iu1[view] [source] 2025-07-28 16:25:40
>>alias_+is1
Can you provide an example for others? I know I often hear this complaint here in Canada about entering a new tax bracket, but the reality is that only the money earned above the bracket's lower bound is taxed at that higher rate (if the bracket is $10k and you make $10,001, only that $1 is taxed at that higher brackets rate), and so I'm wondering what the UK is doing differently.

Edit: Ah, there's a baseline personal deduction (12.5k) that disappears between 100-125k, meaning, for that narrow band, every dollar earned in that range has a higher effective tax rate due to that deduction slowly disappearing. It's still progressive, so you don't suddenly start paying 60% tax on everything.

https://www.brewin.co.uk/insights/earn-over-100k-beware-the-...

◧◩◪◨⬒⬓⬔⧯
8. alias_+4F1[view] [source] 2025-07-28 17:20:51
>>Sketch+iu1
See another comment of mine that also shows how going from 99,999 to 100,000 also costs you 2000 for each pre-school aged child you have per year meaning you actually earn thousands less, and to top it off, you now also have to do your own tax returns because you hit 100,000 despite being PAYE.

EDIT: it's interesting that anyone genuinely asking and trying to understand is getting downvoted as opposed to anyone who just disagrees with me.

◧◩◪◨⬒⬓⬔⧯▣
9. teamon+TI1[view] [source] 2025-07-28 17:41:46
>>alias_+4F1
For those in the US: the UK tax return (actually a partial return and declaration of income) takes 10 minutes. It’s all done online. There are no complicated calculations, you just declare your income, investment income, interest and other sources, minus any tax already paid. You don’t need an accountant and there are no costs for filing.
◧◩◪◨⬒⬓⬔⧯▣▦
10. lisbbb+Eg3[view] [source] 2025-07-29 04:56:57
>>teamon+TI1
You don't need an accountant because you already know they took almost all your money!
[go to top]