An Unwanted Opinion

I was recently asked to write a short opinion piece (I will not be revealing who for), and it turns out that the opinion they wanted was not: “Pay Your Taxes”, and I was unwilling to say anything else, so the deal fell through. That’s fine, and it happens a lot. However, it is still election season in the UK, and I do still hold that opinion. So I thought I might as well put the piece here, in case anyone wanted to read it.

In case you somehow missed it, we are in the run up to an election, which means talking about taxes. Labour have promised to raise taxes on the top 5% of earners. This has angered some rich people who do not think they are rich.

If you are lucky enough to earn over £80,000 you earn more money than 95% of the country. That is a fact; no amount of indignant rage on national television will change it. If you earnt the highest rate of minimum wage and worked every hour, of every day, for a whole year, without a single break, you would not earn £80,000. In fact, the difference between what you would earn and £80,000, is approximately what I earnt in the whole of 2016. Numbers do not lie, and the fact that some people try to deny that shows one of the larger problems this country faces. 

We are a nation divided, people’s social circles rarely encompass people of vastly different means, and it removes all perspective. If you earn over £80,000 a year, and spend all your time with people who earn over £80,000 a year, of course you cannot see what you have. £80,000 a year is a comfortable home. £80,000 a year is new shoes. It’s never worrying about the weekly shop. It’s never counting your change at the bus stop and walking instead. £80,000 a year is peace of mind.

What I have learnt from being a writer with a silly job, a low income, and a habit of mingling with people across all areas of society, is that those who know what it is to have nothing are those most likely to give what they can to help those in need. This is what taxation comes down to, in the end. Helping others. We live in a society, and part of that means we have a duty towards other people. Taxes are part of that duty.

If you think it’s shameful that foodbank use is rising, homelessness is rising, the NHS is underfunded, schools are struggling, roads are full of potholes, youth groups and libraries are closing, emergency services are being cut, government assets are being sold, people are being declared ‘fit for work’ and dying weeks later, the elderly are struggling to receive care, disabled people are suffering; I am pleased to say there is a solution: Pay more taxes. For a few more pounds a week you can help fund all of these things. It’s like a subscription service, only it keeps society working.

I do not know how to explain to the rich that they should have empathy for other people. That placing your money above everyone and everything else is a deeply selfish act. That voting for a political party, based on nothing but the amount of tax they will take from you, is abhorrent. If you earn £85,000 a year, under a Labour Government, you’ll pay 69p more tax each day. That’s less than a Netflix subscription.

For that you could help people. You could fund the NHS properly, extend library opening hours, reduce homelessness, and cut foodbank use. You could prevent a whole generation of children from growing up knowing what it is to be cold, and hungry, and scared.

Or, you could keep the money, spend it on a pint once a week, and feel proud that you dodged such a crippling financial bullet. After all, if the reactions of many are anything to go by, the richest people in this country couldn’t countenance helping others - paying taxes is nothing compared to the moral boost you get when, having voted to strip the safety net from the 95% of this country that happen to be less well off than you, you donate some money to a charity that shouldn’t need to exist - and declare it on your tax return.