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I'm only a basic rate tax payer but if I get a £1 payrise, 41p of it goes straight to the government
Hardly a problem though, you're only paying more tax on that extra quid. I think once you start earning bigger money like that, pay rises tend to take into account the extra tax you pay. Doubt you get too many people on 80k getting 20p an hour "rises" and being told to to be bloody grateful for it. Moar income tax and less VAT, flat rate taxes are shit.
Marginal rate is the rate at which additional earnings are taxed. I'm only a basic rate tax payer but if I get a £1 payrise, 41p of it goes straight to the government*. Next year it'll be 42.25p (and an increased employer contribution on top of that).
I think the entire tax system is designed to disguise how much you actually pay even on shitmuncher wages
* I'm counting student loans - 20% income, 12% NI, 9% SLC