Whats the point in working overtime just to pay more tax?

There is no incentive for hard workers to work!

As a hard working Nurse I must admit I’m completely fed up with how the UK tax system works. It seems the harder you work to get better educated and earn more money, the more the HMRC squeeze out of you. Why should we pay more tax just because we have worked harder to gain extra qualifications. All of my professional qualifications have been learnt whilst I was working full time, so there have been many late nights and early mornings. It has not come easy and I have made many sacrifices along the way. Probably the reason I’m on my second marriage at 40!

I feel those that work harder get cheated by the Government on so many angles. I earn just over the threshold to receive any child benefits or any benefits whatsoever. Yet those whom both parents earn just under the threshold can earn twice as much as our family and still get it.

Even more frustrating is that I cant afford to live comfortably on my normal salary as a nurse so am forced to work overtime every week, which is charged at an even higher rate of tax! Currently when I work overtime I pay 40% tax and 12% National insurance, so I see less than half of what I earn. Most of the patients I treat in A&E don't work at all and live on the benefits the rest of us provide for them and some seem incredibly ungrateful for this.

Having worked in private healthcare for six years in the past I am fully aware of how much the simple things we take for granted cost. We were trained to warn patients how much a series of simple blood tests could cost before they had them done, because people were often shocked and went back to their GP to get it for free. In the NHS I come across frequent attenders to A&E regularly, who say ‘my GP does not care about my pain’ and when you look back at their records they have have numerous blood tests, ultrasound scans, CT scans and MRI scans that people in America would have to sell a kidney to afford! In America 326441 bankruptcies last year were related to an illness or injury to the filer or a family member, and 267575 other filers had substantial medical bills though they also listed other reasons — or gave no reason — for their bankruptcies.

It also annoys me that there are certain communities that contribute absolutely nothing towards the NHS but expect everything from it and are often the hardest people to care for.

Why would it be so bad to ask that everyone should contribute to society? Everyone should get taxed the same no matter what they earned and when you work harder you actually get rewarded for this, not penalised. I believe that unless you have exceptional circumstances such as a disability or being a single parent, then you should only get out what you put in.

History has proven time and time again that the government would actually increase their tax revenue by lowering tax. High earners would actually pay their taxes rather than finding ways to avoid paying, people would actually benefit from working extra hours so would be encouraged to do so. Most of the Consultants and Registrars I work with don’t bother working overtime as its just not worth it after deductions.

I do however agree with the current UK governments scheme to abolish this culture we have created of ‘sick notes’ where people are being signed off work on long term sick for simple everyday life challenges such as ‘stress’. The UK government spent approximately 72 million pounds on statutory sick pay in 2021/22 and that only kicks in after the first 3 days off. Workplace absences among staff with long-term health conditions cost the economy £32.7bn last year, according to Zurich and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). The cost is forecast to double to £66.3bn by 2030 as more people are forced to take more time off sick.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this.