Unfortunately, I don't seem to have a copy of my June payslip. However, I have asked for a copy and will add it to this blog page once I have it.
My pay, over the May - July period, has changed. Not in the amount I earn, but what I take home. This is because my tax code has changed and I now pay more tax on my earnings as a councillor.
In May I took home £1,158.50 compared to £860.30 in July. A drop of £298.20.
My tax code used to be 'BR', meaning that I paid the basic rate on the full amount of my councillor salary. This is because I have a full-time job which uses up all my tax free allowance. My code has now changed to D0, meaning I am paying 40% tax on this salary.
So, from now on, my pay figures will be as the below.
'Allowance' for being a councillor: £867.67
'Allowance' for being Chairman of a committee: £625.00
Total, before taxes, of £1492.67
Tax paid of £596.80, National Insurance remains the same at £35.57.
Take home pay of £860.30.
"We don't get a salary, it's an allowance..."
A few Councillors seem upset that I deem this regular, set, monthly payment a salary. They describe it as 'an allowance' instead. Whilst that is the technical term, I find it misleading. An allowance suggests that it's not payment for doing the role, but some kind of reimbursement for expenses incurred.
The truth is that whether I did nothing, or ran myself ragged, I'd get the same amount. It's a fixed sum, every month. That, in my mind, is a salary.
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