Employment levy

Mountjoy Mugger

Just got my pay slip and see that I was deducted the 1% employment levy.

The 1st January was my pay-day (paid in arrears) and the money was lodged into my account on 31st December. I paid the full 1%, not pro-rata.

Surely I shouldn't have been deducted the full levy when most of my earnings were in last year's tax year?

jimmycrackcorm

You are just unlucky. Take for example a salesman who makes a business sale in 2008 and is due commission. However this is only payable on receipt of the invoice being paid by the client business. Say that happens three months later in 2009. Then despite earning the commission last year, the actual payment is in 2009 and subject to 2009 tax rules.

Toto Wolfcastle

My payslip arrived on Tuesday instead of Thursday. The date of issue is the 1st but the period I was payed for runs from the 16th to the 29th December.

As far as I'm concerned, that's money that I earned before the levy came in and I should not have been deducted the 1%.

But there are many in the same situation.

gerrycollins

you will be able to claim it back if you do your annual tax check because it will increase your 2008 contributions over what you should have paid.

Your employer probably set up their system early due to the holidays etc maybe talk to them and ask

jaffa20

This happened to me today. Was charged 1%levy for work that i carried out before 1st january. Lovely!:mad:

Collie D

gerrycollins wrote: »

you will be able to claim it back if you do your annual tax check because it will increase your 2008 contributions over what you should have paid.

Your employer probably set up their system early due to the holidays etc maybe talk to them and ask

Unfortunately not. The levy, unlike PAYE is not cumulative so I'm afraid it's gone. It's **** that you're paying on 2008 income but there's not really anything you can do

cooperla

Probably no comfort now but I'd imagine when/if the levy disappears you'll get it back (i.e. if the levy were only run to the end of December 2009, then you wouldn't get stuck in your Jan 1 pay slip).

We had better get used to it because you can bet your life a levy increase is on the cards.

I wondered why a bigger fuss wasnt made out of the levy being introduced, maybe because it was across the board.

I can see them raising it to 2 or 3% in the next budget

doolox

Income tax was introduced inthe UK during WW1 as a "temporary measure".
It applied only to the rich and hence met with little opposition from the newly enfranchised voting masses.
Gradually the limits were lowered and the net increased to cover more people which culminated in the high tax rates ( 65% ) and high emigration ( the brain drain) of the 70's and 80's.
Lower tax rates were the brain-child of the PD's whose support in the 90's was needed to keep FF in power. This led to a shift in taxation from payroll to property and purchase taxes with the advent of the unholy alliance between property developers, banks and the government and the price rise bubble which we are now in.
While increasing income taxes, along with reducing public sector wages is seen as an unthinkable actions for and vote-getting government, we may see major changes in this regard. By aggreement with the opposition it may be possible that tax rates and pay policy might be put off limits to political discussion to avoid the "supermarket politics of the '70's and '80's.

Kristopherus

As I understand it this accursed levy is deductable from the first payment of 2009, irrespective of when it was actually earned. Those friendly guys and gals in Revenue advise us that we can claim any overpayment we might think we have made after the end of 2009. Who the hell is going to go back looking at their first payslip of 2009 next January:D. At most the 2008 element of your wage slip will have yielded maybe 5 Euro. Doubtful if many will reclaim, leaving a handy bit of pocket money for our wonderful government:mad: