Better off giving up work?

Nickynoo1

I live in a small villiage in Spain. There does not seem to be a tax credit system here. There is vast unemployment but the 'norm' here is for the men to work and the women stay at home. They are also often supported by having their mothers and M-I-Ls living very close by, (perhaps even next door in some cases). For the women that do work, its the family support that allows them to do so. In the UK families are encouraged to move away from each other in order to find work, thus needing state support at times. As a single mother here, i simply could not live the 'norm'. I work in the local school which fits perfectly but would be limited to anything else (although school starts at aged 3 here, all free) I am glad that in the UK that there are state support when needed, and i would not be limited to just the part time jobs that are available during school hours.

Mrs_Arcanum

The idea that women stayed at home minding the children was a product of the 50's. Most families had a home based occupation as well as the man going out to work. Often piece work such as glove making or nail making. Only the middle classes and above could afford not to have both parents bring in an income.

Morglin

sunnyone wrote: »

Get your facts right, the married mans allowance was tiny and was also given to single parents so all families got it and it had nothing at all to do with stay at home parents because you just couldnt do it on the pitance this was instead of another wage.

This fiction of transferable tax allowance never happened either, not in this country, only the married mans "extra" was transfereable and not personal allowance.

There was an extra avaialble to a tiny part of the poorest families but it wasnt given to the huge ammount that taxs credits are and nor was it anywhere near as widely avaialble.

Todays tax credits are a means tested benefit that was brought in to "buy" votes for labour and they are unsustainable, if you want kids, then you should pay for your own kids and their childcare.

Tax credits have actually nothing to do with replacing tax allowances, either what is paid now, or previously.

They were called 'tax credits' simply to encourage higher take up, as it was felt anything with the word 'benefit' in it would discourage some.

Prior to tax credits, there was Family Credit, and before that there was Family Income Supplement - both topping up low wages for families, so these top ups for low earners are nothing new.

The married man's tax allowance for children finished a lot of years ago - from memory, I think it was about the time they abolished the old Family Allowance for 2nd child onwards, and introduced Child Benefit for all children.

The idea was that, instead of the man getting the tax advantage, the money would 'go straight into mum's purse' (to quote the saying at the time).

Lin

melly1980

oldtractor wrote: »

why should people have children and let others bring them up? My husbands provides for me and mine, I love being a housewife,a lady of leisure,mostly,doing what I like all day long. :j:beer::j
Its great for him to come home to a lovely home made meal,clean house and interested in him wife. Nothing wrong in that,would be a much nicer world if mums looked after their children and husbands, less stress,more love.

which is great for you. However you seem to think that everyone should adopt the same approach.

melly1980

Mrs_Arcanum wrote: »

It is only a cost whilst child care is needed .

Although that is very true the amount of time that someone spends in this zone of being a burden is quite long. Taking an average family to have 2 kids with minimal gap between them you are looking at a bare minimum 8 - 10 years of being a "drain on society" if your earnings dont cover your childcare. Thats nearly 1/3rd of your working career and even then this is assuming your not paying childcare at all from the ages of 4 upwards. In reality there may be afterschool and per-school fees for 4 or so years and claims for school holidays between the ages of 4 and 10)

That cant be economic sense for the country can it? Im all for people working and providing assistance to help that, its a good thing but surely to god you cant have a system where someones childcare fees exceed what they are earning?

Kimitatsu

OP - you can ask at your local CAB for a better off calculation, they will look at what you earn now and what you would be eligible for if you stayed at home.

If you want to be a teacher have you looked at training whilst your little ones are small? There are lots of grants and burseries and many institutions offer a subsidised creche, especially for the caring professions and teaching. Schools prefer teachers who have been out and about in the world rather than straight from school. The TDA can help you with some information and there are presentations on the web here:

http://www.tda.gov.uk/get-into-teaching/events/train-to-teach.aspx/

As this seems to have descended into a slanging match about tax credits, I am closing the thread (and the OP is scared to come back I think!)