Sorry....another Child Tax Credit query

brummiebabe

I agree - I for one am so grateful for all of the advice - keep up the great work!!!:A

Blue22

zagfles wrote: »

Thanks, but a bit unfair as there are TCO staff who post here who are very knowledgable.

Whoops, apologies if I have offended any TCO staff who are members here. I'm not aware of those who do post on here but don't read everything, I was comparing you more with the call centre staff that I have had contact with.

In all honesty Zagfles you are extremely good with the old tax credits and explain them brilliantly. Just out of curiosity, are you involved with any lobbying or pressure groups? If not you should consider it!

zagfles

Blue22 wrote: »

Whoops, apologies if I have offended any TCO staff who are members here. I'm not aware of those who do post on here but don't read everything, I was comparing you more with the call centre staff that I have had contact with.

In all honesty Zagfles you are extremely good with the old tax credits and explain them brilliantly. Just out of curiosity, are you involved with any lobbying or pressure groups? If not you should consider it!

No - if I was going to lobby for anything it'd be the abolishon for tax credits and their replacement by a French style taxation system - where income tax is assessed on families not individuals and non earners can their tax allowance & tax bands against the family income. Then you'd just need benefits for those who don't earn enough to use their allowance.

Either that or a "citizen's income" where everyone gets a non-means tested allowance which is enough to live on, and a flat (quite high) tax rate with no allowances.

Both would need big hikes in tax rates, but would reduce the overall withdrawal rates for families (ie tax & NI & tax credits withdrawal which is now 73%).

But it's not going to happen - the pressure's the other way - in this country the left want increases in payable benefits and the right want lower tax rates so that's the direction we've been heading for the last few decades.

Sixer

zagfles wrote: »

No - if I was going to lobby for anything it'd be the abolishon for tax credits and their replacement by a French style taxation system - where income tax is assessed on families not individuals and non earners can their tax allowance & tax bands against the family income. Then you'd just need benefits for those who don't earn enough to use their allowance.

Either that or a "citizen's income" where everyone gets a non-means tested allowance which is enough to live on, and a flat (quite high) tax rate with no allowances.

Both would need big hikes in tax rates, but would reduce the overall withdrawal rates for families (ie tax & NI & tax credits withdrawal which is now 73%).

But it's not going to happen - the pressure's the other way - in this country the left want increases in payable benefits and the right want lower tax rates so that's the direction we've been heading for the last few decades.

I would go for a citizen's income, a land value tax, and the abolishing of income taxes, council taxes, VAT and the rest of the shebang! People seem to think this is a right-libertarian-only view - but it isn't; it just depends on the % of the tax and the £ of the citizen's income. There would still be plenty to vote for.

Blue22

zagfles wrote: »

No - if I was going to lobby for anything it'd be the abolishon for tax credits and their replacement by a French style taxation system - where income tax is assessed on families not individuals and non earners can their tax allowance & tax bands against the family income. Then you'd just need benefits for those who don't earn enough to use their allowance.


Either that or a "citizen's income" where everyone gets a non-means tested allowance which is enough to live on, and a flat (quite high) tax rate with no allowances.

Both would need big hikes in tax rates, but would reduce the overall withdrawal rates for families (ie tax & NI & tax credits withdrawal which is now 73%).


But it's not going to happen - the pressure's the other way - in this
country the left want increases in payable benefits and the right want lower tax rates so that's the direction we've been heading for the last
few decades.

Yes I'd picked up from your previous posts that you aren't a supporter of
the current system and think you do well in articulating what many of us feel

You say that its not going to happen but if enough people pushed for an alternative, both the left and right would have to rethink their direction. I guess Mr and Mrs Average are too busy working silly hours and bringing up their families that they don't have any time left to push for change. The silent majority are remaining silent although an increasing number do seem to be taking some action, ie working reduced hours and increasing benefit entitlements.

Mind you I was slightly encouraged the other day when I found this policy organization

http://www.resolutionfoundation.org/

Although not just representing families, they do seem to be the one organization speaking up for the silent masses

zagfles

Blue22 wrote: »

Yes I'd picked up from your previous posts that you aren't a supporter of
the current system and think you do well in articulating what many of us feel

You say that its not going to happen but if enough people pushed for an alternative, both the left and right would have to rethink their direction. I guess Mr and Mrs Average are too busy working silly hours and bringing up their families that they don't have any time left to push for change. The silent majority are remaining silent although an increasing number do seem to be taking some action, ie working reduced hours and increasing benefit entitlements.

Mind you I was slightly encouraged the other day when I found this policy organization

http://www.resolutionfoundation.org/

Although not just representing families, they do seem to be the one organization speaking up for the silent masses

The problem is, as we see time and time again on this forum, that people don't understand the benefits system, the tax system, or how they interact and the effects of the interaction. People argue benefits etc without even having a clue what the rates are, what the rules are etc. The debate is dominated by ignorant people spouting bulls**t.

For me the most fundamental problem is the disconnect between the way the tax system assesses individuals but the benefits system assesses couples/families. Most people just don't comprehend how massively unfair this is, and how much it benefits single people at the expense of families. But nobody is shouting about this, nobody is outraged, there are no headlines in the Mail or Guardian. I couldn't even find a mention of it on the site you quoted.

TBH I don't think there's any hope of this changing, the vested interests on the left will carry on arguing for increased benefits and the vested interests on the right will carry on arguing for lower tax rates. Both options pretty much rule out making the system any fairer.

jayjo_3

i am a new mother of a now 10 week old. i work part time, and am on maternity benifit at the moment.
i live with my mother in a council property, and she works full time.
she does not take any money from me for rent, but i am expected to pay my own way for myself and the baby, which i cannot do on maternity pay,
am i allowed to apply for any benifits besides child benefit, to help me?
i have no idea how much my mother earns and she is not interested in telling me.
any help would be appreciated

no-oneknowsme

jayjo wrote: »

i am a new mother of a now 10 week old. i work part time, and am on maternity benifit at the moment.
i live with my mother in a council property, and she works full time.
she does not take any money from me for rent, but i am expected to pay my own way for myself and the baby, which i cannot do on maternity pay,
am i allowed to apply for any benifits besides child benefit, to help me?
i have no idea how much my mother earns and she is not interested in telling me.
any help would be appreciated

Hi there and congratulations on your new baby.

Depending on your situation regarding how many hours per week you work you may be entitled to working tax credits. To be entitled to this you must be working a MINIMUM of 16 hours per week.

You will also be entitled to CHILD tax credits for your baby.

Any maintenace payments you receive from the father of your baby will NOT be counted as income when applying for tax credits so if you are in a position to get some payments from the father then this is something you should look into doing.

Your entitlement to tax credits is completely seperate from any income your Mum has coming in (unless you are a dependent of hers and she already claims tax credits for you?) and you can claim for yourself and your baby regardless of her income.

Put your details into the benefit checker http://www.turn2us.org.uk and see what it says you are entitled to. You can then contact tax credits office on 0845 300 3900 to request that a claim pack be sent out to you.

In certain situations tax credits payments can be back dated to 12 weeks before the date you actually apply. When you call to request your claim pack ask the helpline staff about this.

Hope some of this helps you.