Everyone loves a headline like “Minimum Wage Rises Again!” — it sounds great, right? More cash in the pockets of the hardest-working, lowest-paid people in society. Champagne corks in Wetherspoons! But wait… why does it still feel like being broke just got slightly more expensive?
🧾 More Wage, Less Take-Home, Same Struggle
Let’s unpack this economic sleight of hand.
Yes, the minimum wage has risen — but so has the tax burden on that wage. That’s right: for the privilege of working more hours, people are getting nudged into paying income tax and National Insurance (NI) earlier than ever. 😒
👉 Earn just over £12,570? Congrats! You’ve now qualified to pay for working.
👉 Employers? They’re paying 13.8% NI on top of the wage increase.
So what do we have?
A worker getting taxed for being slightly less poor, and a small business getting punished for paying them more.
Meanwhile, the Treasury still gets its cut, pats itself on the back, and updates the GDP figures like it’s solved poverty.
But here’s the kicker:
If the tax-free threshold stayed in line with inflation, or if employer NI was adjusted for microbusinesses, then both sides would breathe.
Instead, we’ve built a system where lifting wages feels like inflating a balloon — while sticking pins in it from both sides.
It’s not that the minimum wage is “too high” — it’s that it’s heavily taxed, and the cost of raising it is dumped entirely on employers, especially those already balancing precariously in retail, hospitality, or care sectors.
And guess what?
Those costs? They trickle right back down:
☕ Your £3 coffee becomes £3.75
🍔 That burger deal? Now £9.99
💇 The £12 haircut? Up to £17
So round and round we go, playing economic snakes and ladders while calling it progress.
🧨 Challenges 🧨
Is this really a wage increase if the worker still can’t afford rent, and the employer can’t afford staff? Shouldn’t the government take a smaller slice instead of pretending every hike is a gift from on high? Or should we be talking net pay instead of headline figures?
💬 Dive into the debate — comment on the blog with your take. Employer? Employee? Economist with a grudge? We want to hear from you.
👇 Comment, like, and share this with someone who’s worked out their paycheck and thought, “Where did it all go?”
📝 The best insights will feature in the next edition of the magazine.
Chameleon Magazine 
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