You make it sound like they want to pay public sector workers more. Unfortunately we have been in a period of extraordinary global inflation and various groups have gone on strike to force pay rises as a result. They need paid for, along with other schemes like covid support and given the cost of living issues, increasing tax isn't a great idea It has to come from many sources and you are unfortunate that you are one of the people impacted in an obvious hit. To the average UK person I think most would be favourable to increasing fees for visas, particularly for people where a large percentage can pay it without many problems, rather than tax increasing even more.
You'll have had access to the NHS basically on arrival. If you broke your leg you could get treated for free without contributing much via tax. Compare the cost to somewhere without a public health scheme. You are fortunate to not have had to use the hospitals and paid more than you have got back. I'm in the same boat. But there are always people on the other side.
Housing has been an issue for every government I can remember. We live on a small island with limited space and an increasing population (low death rate/high net migration),it is unlikely to be solved anytime soon.
Isn't that the whole point of increasing immigration fees? I recall Rishi talking about it.
I guess only time will tell whether increasing fees has a negative or positive effect. It's not like UK salaries are sky high, they are actually quite low. Hopefully the economy doesn't suffer from a lack of foreign skilled workers in the future.
Found this Oxford study done a few years ago:
"The average UK-based migrant from Europe contributed approximately £2,300 more to UK public finances in 2016/17 than the average UK adult. In comparison, each UK born adult contributed £70 less than the average, and each non-European migrant contributed over £800 less than the average.
The average European migrant arriving in the UK in 2016 will contribute £78,000 more than they take out in public services and benefits over their time spent in the UK (assuming a balanced national budget), and the average non-European migrant will make a positive net contribution of £28,000 while living here. By comparison, the average UK citizen’s net lifetime contribution in this scenario is zero.
Taken together, this means that the migrants who arrived in 2016 will make a total net positive contribution of £26.9 billion to the UK’s public finances over the entirety of their stay. The value of this to the UK’s public finances is equivalent to putting approximately 5p on income tax rates (across all marginal rate bands) in that year."
https://www.oxfordeconomics.com/resource/the-fiscal-impact-of-immigration-on-the-uk/#:~:text=The average European migrant arriving,£28,000 while living here.
Hopefully the Ponzi scheme doesn't crumble.
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I suspect that the main reason non-European migrants don't contribute as much as European ones is because the UK has to spend quite a bit of resources on refugees.