Higher tax bracket= wealthy?

Ray Palmer

I have seen a few comments here and elsewhere that people mention the higher tax bracket as wealthy! It seems like a really strange statement to me.
I get some people are in trouble but I certainly wouldn't use the threshold as sign of wealth.

Drakares

The only people in the higher tax bracket that aren't very comfortable are mostly those who have borrowed beyond their means.

I hardly see 32k p/a as wealthy

kippy

Drakares wrote: »

The only people in the higher tax bracket that aren't very comfortable are mostly those who have borrowed beyond their means.

Really? That's the only category?

franktheplank

Is this some new age hippy crap?

Let me guess it's like 'who you are inside' that makes you like wealthy, not how much you like earn in monitory terms man.

hyperborean

Ray Palmer wrote: »

I have seen a few comments here and elsewhere that people mention the higher tax bracket as wealthy! It seems like a really strange statement to me.
I get some people are in trouble but I certainly wouldn't use the threshold as sign of wealth.

I never seen that commented anywere? That would be crazy as the €32k question highlights

Schism

It all depends on each person's situation and commitments.

32k p/a for myself would see me quite comfortable, as I'm single and have no kids. The same wage for someone supporting a growing family of four would show considerably more strain.

summerskin

Drakares wrote: »

The only people in the higher tax bracket that aren't very comfortable are mostly those who have borrowed beyond their means.

So a couple where one partner works and earns €33k and the other doesn't work are very comfortable? you're sadly out of touch, and i would imagine either alone or at home with the parents.

I earn well over the bracket figure, don't have any borrowings and am reasonably comfortable. All it takes though is a large unexpected expense to make things tight again, at least for a while.

The tax bracket here is ridiculously low anyway, should be nearer the £42k+ it is in the UK.

Ray Palmer

hyperborean wrote: »

I never seen that commented anywere? That would be crazy as the €32k question highlights

Well look at the 2nd post on the thread, he seems to think it is.
Crazy indeed.

awec

Depends where you live too. 40 grand a year in Dublin is going to be worth a lot less to you than 40 grand a year in the sticks.

pickarooney

We're all hilariously wealthy. Three cheers for us.

Irishcrx

I earn 33k a year, have a mortgage and a young baby. Partner is on minimium wage and doing 2-3 days a week. Were not wealthy, were getting by like everyone else as said one bad expense and were in the red for the month or next.

gurramok

If you chose to have a big mortgage and it affects your wealth in a significant way, thats your problem no matter what wage you're on.

Speak Now

Drakares wrote: »

The only people in the higher tax bracket that aren't very comfortable are mostly those who have borrowed beyond their means.

Or have had a big reduction in their wage!

Bruce7

gurramok wrote: »

If you chose to have a big mortgage and it affects your wealth in a significant way, thats your problem no matter what wage you're on.

How much is an acceptable mortgage for people to take out, in your opinion? In terms of a multiple of their annual gross salary.

bnt

At the risk of stating the obvious: you are usually taxed on income, not on wealth. It's possible to be a millionaire who makes €10k a year, and you would pay income tax on that €10k.

But wealthy people don't just let their wealth (capital) sit around doing nothing. They'd invest it, and pay capital gains tax on the proceeds. Or (in the last decade) they'd buy property, and pay tax on the rental income, or the profit if they sold it.

If that sounds like double taxation, well, there are tax breaks on mortgage interest payments etc. But now the govt. has put a property tax on the books, which is basically a wealth tax - since so many people poured their after-tax wealth in to property. That is on top of the taxable gains due to rental income or profits on sales. I guess they figured out that a loss on the sale of the house = no capital gains = no capital gains tax.

Celly Smunt

Irishcrx wrote: »

I earn 33k a year, have a mortgage and a young baby. Partner is on minimium wage and doing 2-3 days a week. Were not wealthy, were getting by like everyone else as said one bad expense and were in the red for the month or next.

is that before or after the sky and broadband are paid?