Child Benefit Farce

CLAPTON

yes indeed it is unfair, like so many other things in life.

however because the staff member one has an advantage that doesn't mean staff member two is worse off.

sad that people hate seeing some-else get an advantage they don't have, that does them no harm.

unkle

CLAPTON wrote: »

however because the staff member one has an advantage that doesn't mean staff member two is worse off.

sad that people hate seeing some-else get an advantage they don't have, that does them no harm.

Not sure that is quite the case, losing the CB obviously does do them some harm and make them worse off!

I'm still waiting for my letter to hit the mat, has anyone received this yet?

CLAPTON

unkle wrote: »

Not sure that is quite the case, losing the CB obviously does do them some harm and make them worse off!

I'm still waiting for my letter to hit the mat, has anyone received this yet?

of course losing benefit causes them financial harm
but the fact that some-else doesn't lose it doesn't add any additional hurt

unkle

CLAPTON wrote: »

of course losing benefit causes them financial harm
but the fact that some-else doesn't lose it doesn't add any additional hurt

But it is human nature........ otherwise on that basis only those who were in the 50% tax band should be able to moan when it dropped to 45p, anyone who wasn't shouldn't as it hasn't caused them any additional hurt......

CLAPTON

unkle wrote: »

But it is human nature........ otherwise on that basis only those who were in the 50% tax band should be able to moan when it dropped to 45p, anyone who wasn't shouldn't as it hasn't caused them any additional hurt......

If the sums of money gained by one section were large (like the change from 50% to 45%) then one might argue that others have to pay more to compensate... a legitimate complaint.

however, here the main grouse seems simply that the 'couple' on a total of 90k gain an advantage that the guy on 60k doesn't rather than any extra injury casued.

human nature of course but not very attractive.

unkle

CLAPTON wrote: »

If the sums of money gained by one section were large (like the change from 50% to 45%) then one might argue that others have to pay more to compensate... a legitimate complaint.

however, here the main grouse seems simply that the 'couple' on a total of 90k gain an advantage that the guy on 60k doesn't rather than any extra injury casued.

human nature of course but not very attractive.

I don't see the difference myself, the sums of money involved (£2,450) is the same as what a 50% changing to 45% tax payer saves on £49k of earnings above the limit, i'd say that was a fairly large amount for one section (£2,450) and like your post the fact they keep that amount means other pay (or lose) more to compensate...........

jkmum

Apparently I live in a high earning household. So why does it not feel like that? Day to day we are ok, but our month by month expenditure is closely monitored and close to the wire. We run a 10 year old car fully paid for out of redundancy money & I stay awake at night that someone will crash into it, it will get written off & I don't know how we'll afford a new one. We haven't had a foreign holiday for 5 years, a UK one for 2 years. We take packed lunches on days out (which is usually NT as we have a membership to be as cost effective as possible), go to the cinema on cheap days only, buy clothes in Primark and Asda, our house hasn't had any money spent on it for years and to look at both the inside and out you certainly would not believe we are a high income household - it is a bog standard 3 bed semi in an ok area and we certainly could not afford to move. Private education is not even a possibility, nor is gym membership or regular Sunday lunches out or takeaways and Martin Lewis and this site is a Godsend!
However, should by husband get a teeny tiny payrise in April, we will be classed as high earners and lose part of our child benefit.
I feel more hard done by than some others as 5 years ago I had to make the difficult decision to leave my own career as paying for x2 childcare was leaving me with £50 per month take home, after childcare was taken into account. At the time, I was not entitled to anything but the lowest level of tax credit because household income was used to calculate what we received. My OH salary was just over the level for us to receive any more. At the time I thought it was grossly unfair as other families would receive quite a bit in TC plus didn't have childcare costs as they used grandparents. I don't expect anything from the state to raise my children, the choice to leave work to raise them was mine and we made a lot of sacrifices but accepted a better quality of family life instead.
What really upsets me is firstly the unfairness of it all, re the whole £49k x2 situation, secondly the complete lambasting of my family by others on forums and in the media thinking that we deserve to have this money taken off us with no understanding of how a family on £49k actually lives, thirdly, if tax credits can be calculated on household income, why not child benefit? This whole situation is so upsetting me that I have actually cried at comments by others, I feel my heart palpitating and my cheeks burning everytime I think of it :mad::mad::mad:

Generali

jkmum wrote: »

Apparently I live in a high earning household. So why does it not feel like that? Day to day we are ok, but our month by month expenditure is closely monitored and close to the wire. We run a 10 year old car fully paid for out of redundancy money & I stay awake at night that someone will crash into it, it will get written off & I don't know how we'll afford a new one. We haven't had a foreign holiday for 5 years, a UK one for 2 years. We take packed lunches on days out (which is usually NT as we have a membership to be as cost effective as possible), go to the cinema on cheap days only, buy clothes in Primark and Asda, our house hasn't had any money spent on it for years and to look at both the inside and out you certainly would not believe we are a high income household - it is a bog standard 3 bed semi in an ok area and we certainly could not afford to move. Private education is not even a possibility, nor is gym membership or regular Sunday lunches out or takeaways and Martin Lewis and this site is a Godsend!
However, should by husband get a teeny tiny payrise in April, we will be classed as high earners and lose part of our child benefit.
I feel more hard done by than some others as 5 years ago I had to make the difficult decision to leave my own career as paying for x2 childcare was leaving me with £50 per month take home, after childcare was taken into account. At the time, I was not entitled to anything but the lowest level of tax credit because household income was used to calculate what we received. My OH salary was just over the level for us to receive any more. At the time I thought it was grossly unfair as other families would receive quite a bit in TC plus didn't have childcare costs as they used grandparents. I don't expect anything from the state to raise my children, the choice to leave work to raise them was mine and we made a lot of sacrifices but accepted a better quality of family life instead.
What really upsets me is firstly the unfairness of it all, re the whole £49k x2 situation, secondly the complete lambasting of my family by others on forums and in the media thinking that we deserve to have this money taken off us with no understanding of how a family on £49k actually lives, thirdly, if tax credits can be calculated on household income, why not child benefit? This whole situation is so upsetting me that I have actually cried at comments by others, I feel my heart palpitating and my cheeks burning everytime I think of it :mad::mad::mad:

You're in the top 10% of earners in the UK and as it is taxes don't come close to paying for government expenditure so who do you think should pay your child benefit bill? Someone has to be taxed to pay the bill and there simply aren't enough people earning more than you that your income can be subsidised to a large degree.

John_Pierpoint

jkmum wrote: »

Apparently I live in a high earning household. So why does it not feel like that? Day to day we are ok, but our month by month expenditure is closely monitored and close to the wire. We run a 10 year old car fully paid for out of redundancy money & I stay awake at night that someone will crash into it, it will get written off & I don't know how we'll afford a new one. We haven't had a foreign holiday for 5 years, a UK one for 2 years. We take packed lunches on days out (which is usually NT as we have a membership to be as cost effective as possible), go to the cinema on cheap days only, buy clothes in Primark and Asda, our house hasn't had any money spent on it for years and to look at both the inside and out you certainly would not believe we are a high income household - it is a bog standard 3 bed semi in an ok area and we certainly could not afford to move. Private education is not even a possibility, nor is gym membership or regular Sunday lunches out or takeaways and Martin Lewis and this site is a Godsend!
However, should by husband get a teeny tiny payrise in April, we will be classed as high earners and lose part of our child benefit.
I feel more hard done by than some others as 5 years ago I had to make the difficult decision to leave my own career as paying for x2 childcare was leaving me with £50 per month take home, after childcare was taken into account. At the time, I was not entitled to anything but the lowest level of tax credit because household income was used to calculate what we received. My OH salary was just over the level for us to receive any more. At the time I thought it was grossly unfair as other families would receive quite a bit in TC plus didn't have childcare costs as they used grandparents. I don't expect anything from the state to raise my children, the choice to leave work to raise them was mine and we made a lot of sacrifices but accepted a better quality of family life instead.
What really upsets me is firstly the unfairness of it all, re the whole £49k x2 situation, secondly the complete lambasting of my family by others on forums and in the media thinking that we deserve to have this money taken off us with no understanding of how a family on £49k actually lives, thirdly, if tax credits can be calculated on household income, why not child benefit? This whole situation is so upsetting me that I have actually cried at comments by others, I feel my heart palpitating and my cheeks burning everytime I think of it :mad::mad::mad:

Sorry to be "cruel" about your horrible dose of reality, but has it occurred to you that you might be able to build a large shed in your garden or take advantage of Mr Cameron's offer to let you build a massive extension? In there you could start a nursery and care for the children of others who are able to command higher salaries than your career seems to merit?
[The real problem is that we are living in an economy (like USA during the "New Deal") were government spending and thus taxation plus inflation has to account for nearly 50% of the GDP.
Life might be hard but having a new Trident to keep us all safe, makes you proud? Never mind the increasing EU budget and the hand outs to other nations]

Have you done everything possible to "future proof" your home and reduce your environmental foot print? The government has not yet managed to dream up ways of forcing "a compulsory unmitigated payment" (tax) on you for the energy bill that you won't be paying.

There have been "free" subsidies floating about this autumn but it is looking like they won't last past Xmas - the "Green Deal" is already up and running (well crawling) but of course you know all about that?

The_White_Horse

the point is, most normal people that receive CB don't see it as a benefit - they see it as some tax back that they have already paid. if they want stop it, fine. The implementation is ridiculous. They should give everyone with kids a smaller tax code so you pay less tax. that way, there is no benefit - people just keep a bit more of what is theirs anyway.

my salary is MINE. ALL OF IT. the fact that the govt legally steals some every month does not mean it is theirs. They are taking MY money. The sooner people understand that, the better. jealous types on £30k think that people on £150k are being GIVEN more money. THEY ARE NOT. they are just be allowed to keep what is THEIRS.

maybe i wouldn't miss my CB so much if the Govt didn't steal so much from me in the first place. let me keep MY salary and you keep my CB. Deal? No? thought not.