Wages Law

Our country already has a Minimum Wage law; but there is no link between the minimum wage rate and the maximum wage rate. And there is only a tenuous link between wage and salary rates and mortgage and rent rates. And there is no limit on how much the government can squeeze taxation out of the populace. And there is no limit on wage costs for all the employees of a company.

It is therefore proposed that the hourly rate should be specified for all the employees of a firm, including the Board of Directors.

For  business/corporation tax calculation purposes, the maximum hourly wage rate that can be set against profits will be ten times the minimum hourly rate of the lowest paid employee in the firm. If lowest paid employee is on the minimum wage rate then the chief executive can be paid ten times that hourly rate. If the lowest paid employee is on £12 per hour then the highest pay can be £120 per hour. But if the highest paid employee is paid £150 per hour then the the lowest hourly rate payable by the firm is £15 per hour. It is up to the accountants to find the optimum wage distribution for maximising profits and shareholders' dividends.

Also the contracted hours of work should be paid at the rate specfied even if the person has been sent home before completing the hours contracted for; on the other hand for unauthorised time off wages should be deducted at 1.5 times the hourly rate but time worked over the number of contracted hours should be paid at  at 1.33 times the hourly rate, up to 35 hours worked. Above  these hours the rate should be 1.5 the contracted hourly rate.

Taxation of employees wages should be applied only to those hours worked for the contracted hours. Overtime worked is for the benefit of the employee, not for the government. However, to discourage fiddling, the taxable amount could be the total wage earned for the period divided by the actual hours worked multiplied by the contracted hours.

There should also be a taxable "lifetime". After a person has reached retirement age and paid income tax for 30+ years, no income tax liability should exist for that person. This would go some way to easing the pension crisis and stimulate the economy.