Child benefit to be scrapped for higher rate tax payers from 2013

Gorgeous_George

The proposed change is stupid and ill thought out. Probably a sign of things to come from the ConDems. I hope most of those who lose out voted for the ConDems .

My alternative solution would have been child benefit for one child per parent (couple get CB for up to two kids). The savings would have been comparable in my estimation.

I think that the proposal will be changed before it hits the streets.

If someone is awarded a pay rise that takes them 1p over the higher tax threshhold, they will lose £££s in CB. You couldn't make it up.

GG

hallmark

carolt wrote: »

Maybe I should persuade my OH now to go part-time - we're going to lose over £2250/year after tax - that is a LOT of money.

If you think it's a lot of money now, just think how much it seems to all the taxed-to-the-hilt people who don't have kids, who've been paying for it all these years.

Thumper7

I think people who consider shortening their working hours/their salaries in order to maintain child benefit are awfully shortsighted.

As I said previously child benefit isn't payable forever but a cut in salary can be.

What happens when your kids reach 19 and no more benefit, do you really think you are gonna be able to go to your employer and say, remember 10 years ago i took that wage cut to get the child benefit, well thats stopped so can i now have that money back in my salary, I don't think so.

chucknorris

hallmark wrote: »

If you think it's a lot of money now, just think how much it seems to all the taxed-to-the-hilt people who don't have kids, who've been paying for it all these years.

Exactly! Point well made.

kabayiri

Thumper7 wrote: »

I think people who consider shortening their working hours/their salaries in order to maintain child benefit are awfully shortsighted.
.

Obviously not, I agree. It shouldn't be the reason you change.

But it might prompt some people to think..."do we really both need to work full time?".

It's a personal decision made on your own circumstances, and you live with it. No different to other decisions we make.

As a separate example, I know a guy who contracted for about 190 a day. He was able to negotiate his daily rate up, but there is nothing to say he couldn't negotiate his rate down in the future. An odd concept really !

silvercar

kabayiri wrote: »

I wonder if this will change the work patterns for some people?

If the 2 adults in the family each have a good job but work part time to stay under the threshold, then it could prove cost effective in some cases?

Some friends who already do this say they have a better work life balance anyway.

As the threshold for higher rate tax is not inflation adjusted every year, to constantly reduce hours to stay below the threshold would seriously reduce inflation adjusted income. In the same way that people are encourage to take minimum wage jobs for the potential to earn more, accepting that you earn above the threshold will be necessary.

ninky_2

i realise why covetousness is seen as a sin when i read these forums. it makes people small, mean and envious.

be happy with enough instead of being eaten up with the thought of others having more.

StevieJ

longtimelurker wrote: »

Thank you

I know I'm being unreasonable and downright silly in a whole-world context, but suppose my emotions got the better of me. Thank you for sympathising in spite of this! I know MSE can be a harsh forum and maybe I shouldn't have posted what I did in the first place

Sometimes, just sometimes, I feel annoyed at all my classmates who got pregnant at 15 as they're nearly all on their third or fourth child in stable council housing now. Makes me feel like a fool for working hard.

You can't be serious

StevieJ

silvercar wrote: »

As the threshold for higher rate tax is not inflation adjusted every year, to constantly reduce hours to stay below the threshold would seriously reduce inflation adjusted income. In the same way that people are encourage to take minimum wage jobs for the potential to earn more, accepting that you earn above the threshold will be necessary.

I presume you could feed off excess over the HR taxable limit into a pension scheme and so still claim child allowance.

Rochdale_Pioneers

Going off the enragement on display over on Telegraph and Mail forums I expect this to be reversed quickly. They can cope with having the benefit taken away (well, some of them can), but not having it so patently unfair.

A total and utter !!!!-up by Oik.