Tax credits dropped from £500+ to £42 - help!

teabag29

skcollobcat10 wrote: »

Did not say that you were sat on your backside as you say.

If you have a degree, well why don't you try and work also and sort out childcare for your family like other hard working families. Having a degree and education will no doubt put you in a better position to find work.

Unfortunately due to issues I wont go into I only got a 2:2 degree (in November 2010) and have since been looking for work but as it's not the best degree it puts me at the back of the queue so to speak. I am doing voluntary work as and when I can for the youth offending team (appropriate adult) to better my chances and am saving for driving lessons again to increase my chances. I have applied for several jobs and shall keep doing so but unfortunately there just isnt much work about.

teabag29

StormyWeather wrote: »

teabag, why don't you/your OH get any WTC? I thought the cut off was quite high(£60k) for a couple and your OH works over 30 hours a week. Have they changed the rules for that too? :undecided

wow no its nowhere near that amount, i think the cut off is somewhere around 15/16k. We get child tax credits though. I have just looked at a site someone in a previous post mentioned and according to that we are entitled to £13 a week housing benefit and £1 per week council tax benefit .... i never knew this, ive never applied as I assumed that was just for people on benefits.

dtaylor21184

The cut off for wtc is 17,999 I believe

anguk

teabag29 wrote: »

wow no its nowhere near that amount, i think the cut off is somewhere around 15/16k. We get child tax credits though. I have just looked at a site someone in a previous post mentioned and according to that we are entitled to £13 a week housing benefit and £1 per week council tax benefit .... i never knew this, ive never applied as I assumed that was just for people on benefits.

But you are on benefits, tax credits are a welfare benefit, so if you're receiving them you're getting benefits.

Not aimed at you teabag, but I can never understand why some people complain about others receiving benefits when they themselves get tax credits. Tax credits are a welfare benefit paid by the state just the same as JSA, IS etc.

teabag29

anguk wrote: »

But you are on benefits, tax credits are a welfare benefit, so if you're receiving them you're getting benefits.

Not aimed at you teabag, but I can never understand why some people complain about others receiving benefits when they themselves get tax credits. Tax credits are a welfare benefit paid by the state just the same as JSA, IS etc.

Yes they are benefits you're right but they are to top up wages of low earners that work for a living as opposed to benefits like jsa, income support etc which aren't just a top up but fund all living expenses

melly1980

teabag29 wrote: »

Actually I have been studying for the past 7 years, scrimped and saved and worked ridiculous jobs to get by and support my family. I have done all of the above and I have a degree. I also have 20 grands worth of student fee's to pay off as a result. The thing is im not complaining about it as I still feel lucky that I have a decent life.

Just because a family are entitled to more tax credits than another family does not mean they are getting 'topped up for free' as you so put it, my husband works hard for what he earns 12 hour days 6 days a week and they pay him peanuts.

But thats not the problem of the tax payer. Whether you like it or not you are getting that money given to you for free. It is a cast iron catagoric fact.

Norma_Desmond

And spare a thought for married working couples with no children - have a laugh and see what we're 'entitled' to.

No children = no benefits.

It may sound harsh but if YOU can't feed 'em, don't breed 'em.

anguk

teabag29 wrote: »

Yes they are benefits you're right but they are to top up wages of low earners that work for a living as opposed to benefits like jsa, income support etc which aren't just a top up but fund all living expenses

Yes I agree with you that they're a top-up benefit but the fact remains that they're still a benefit that quite probably makes up a big portion of the country's welfare bill.

It's just I've read so many post from people complaining about "benefit scroungers" being to blame for the country's dire economic state yet they themselves are getting more in tax credits than they pay in income tax! It's sort of like a denial thing, "I'm working therefore I'm not getting benefits" when in reality they are!

teabag29

[QUOTE=
It may sound harsh but if YOU can't feed 'em, don't breed 'em.[/QUOTE]

Yes I see where you are coming from but just because your in a good financial position when you have children doesnt mean you're going to be all throughout their lives and finances may change that you hadn't expected. Nobody can predict the future can they (well except for Mystic Meg ofcourse lol). I also think that comment is a little unfair. Some people out there have been dealt a rough hand in life for whatever reason and genuinely rely on benefits through no fault of their own, why should those people be denied the chance to have a child?

FBaby

We really need to step away from people judging others based on their salary. As per discussion below, one wage in one part of the country is totally different to another part.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3154700

The problem with tax credits reducing as they are is that it really limits the gap between a family that earns a good salary and one that earns average or below average. On one hand, you might have a couple who both made the choice -after being told that this was the way to a better future lifestyle- to go to university, taking loans to pay it, they graduate, take on lower paid jobs to kick start their career and start paying their loan, which limits how much fun they can have. They get married, loans are paid, get better jobs and decide to have kids. They start benefiting from an generous increase in their income, but suddenly find that with childcare costs, mortgage etc..., they are still not living the lifestyle they thought they would be able to enjoy by now. They are exhausted from working full-time and raising children and get to enjoy little luxuries. They would have love to have a third or fourth child but can't afford to as any extra child comes with a dent in their disposable income.

On the other hand, you have a couple who stop school at 16, took on low paid job and have plenty of fun for some years. They decide to have children early, still have below average jobs, and decide to work part-time but that's ok because they get their income topped up by tax credits, they don't own but rent and get housing benefits. In the end, they have a less stressful lifestyle, enjy to have as many children as they wish because they are no better off with more children (or even perhaps better off) and enjoy not much less luxuries than the other couple.

Where is the incentive to study, get a well paid job and work long hours? Do you have to wait until you retire to really be able to enjoy the benefits of that choice?