Overview
- A Times Money/YouGov poll of more than 4,000 people found 76% of those earning over £125,000 do not feel rich, with only 21% saying they do, and 94% of all respondents saying they do not consider themselves rich.
- Chancellor Rachel Reeves has reportedly abandoned a direct income tax rise and is considering measures such as prolonging the freeze on income tax thresholds ahead of the 26 November budget.
- The additional-rate threshold was cut in 2022 to £125,140, and the tapering of the personal allowance between £100,000 and £125,140 produces an effective marginal rate of about 62% on part of income.
- The IFS projects that a two-year extension of the freeze to 2030 would result in roughly one in five adults becoming higher-rate taxpayers, or about 10.1 million people.
- Wealth advisers cite persistent inflation, higher mortgage costs and rising private school fees as reasons many high earners feel less well-off despite six-figure salaries.