If you think that&#x27;s bad, wait until you have savings. Instead of taxing interest earnings as income they assume you earn 4% on your capital and tax that at, say, 50%.<p>The banks are now paying 1%-1.5% but you still have to pay the tax man 2% - so your capital actually goes down. It&#x27;s an implicit negative interest rate.<p>So people like me who didn&#x27;t get a 6x mortgage* and live frugally end up subsiding my Audi-driving, 6x mortgage, overspending &amp; debt-heavy &quot;friends&quot;. The same people who have cause this situation by their dangerous borrowing.<p>* houses are how you fix this: the value in the house isn&#x27;t seen as capital so it&#x27;s not taxed, plus you can deduct interest payments from income taxes; i.e. the entire system is designed to increase property values.