Budget - Child benefit changes

[shaithis]

.....what a joke.

I really thought they were going to take a tough stance but no.

A couple can earn £99,999 per annum between them and still claim it in full.

Nothing to stop the "professional child benefit baby poppers"....so we still have to watch jobless morons having kid after kid as it means they can claim more in benefit than they could from working.


It makes me mad. We are in a crisis and still they are afraid of doing what is needed and what is right.

[roachcoach]

Purely political move so those "filthy rich so and so's" are being 'hurt' too. Plenty of ways to address this in a manner which fiscally (and socially) useful, but that wont satisfy the mob. It's a shame we have to run a balance sheet on popular opinion.


And Christ knows how it is they expect this to work in practice.

[IronWarrior]

.....what a joke.

I really thought they were going to take a tough stance but no.

A couple can earn £99,999 per annum between them and still claim it in full.

Nothing to stop the "professional child benefit baby poppers"....so we still have to watch jobless morons having kid after kid as it means they can claim more in benefit than they could from working.


It makes me mad. We are in a crisis and still they are afraid of doing what is needed and what is right.

Hmm?

Chancellor George Osborne said that the benefit would only be withdrawn entirely from those where one partner earns more than £60,000 a year.

The benefit will be withdrawn gradually from those where one parent earns more than £50,000.

I don't get it, how can they claim it fully?

[roachcoach]

@IW:

Because if mum and dad earn £49999 each they take home a total (gross) of £99998 and they would keep the benefit. Another family with a single earner at £50001 start to lose it, irrespective of partners income.

Likewise those <daily wail>professional breeders</daily wail> also are untouched.

[TheAnimus]

Why the hell do we pay tax, only to be given some of it back?

How much does it cost to administer the child benefit system, how much is it abused?

[aidanjt]

Why the hell do we pay tax, only to be given some of it back?

How much does it cost to administer the child benefit system, how much is it abused?

++

The whole tax credit system is a complete joke. Scrap that peice of crap and just cut the income tax appropriately.

[kalniel]

Child benefit is a big positive, especially in terms of social engineering and long term benefit to the economy. But unfairness in the qualification needs to be addressed. This is possibly Cameron's family stuff applying though.

Thought there was a cap on it though, to prevent the having loads of kids just for benefits thing?

[peterb]

Thought there was a cap on it though, to prevent the having loads of kids just for benefits thing?

Not always a reliable method though

[TheAnimus]

Thought there was a cap on it though, to prevent the having loads of kids

There are many forms of contraception available.

[Kata]

As far as I'm concerned, if you can't afford to have a kid then don't. It's not like we desperately need to pack more people onto the island. Anyway, if you have a kid it already gets free healthcare and free schooling - just how much more subsidy do we want to pay just because people are able to successfully get pregnant!?

Maybe child benefit could be given only to those who adopt.

[roachcoach]

As far as I'm concerned, if you can't afford to have a kid then don't. It's not like we desperately need to pack more people onto the island. Anyway, if you have a kid it already gets free healthcare and free schooling - just how much more subsidy do we want to pay just because people are able to successfully get pregnant!?

Maybe child benefit could be given only to those who adopt.

Well and good but removing a hitherto universal benefit from people who already have said children is going to be unpopular and potentially difficult regardless.

I don't understand why it wasn't scrapped 100% for all new births after say....2013.

Oh wait, I remember, necessary 'political' rubbish and not wanting to make the right call for the problems we have for fear of backlash.

Or cap it at two kids (of course, then the religious groups would claim discrimination....)

[kalniel]

I don't understand why it wasn't scrapped 100% for all new births after say....2013.

Because we want to encourage people from a certain demographic to have more kids, young professionals for example, who might otherwise hold off until they are much older at which point it's both more risky, more expensive, and less good for the economy due to larger generation gaps.

Or cap it at two kids (of course, then the religious groups would claim discrimination....)

Reducing the benefit as the number of kids increases is what already happens, just needs to be adjusted.

[roachcoach]

Because we want to encourage people from a certain demographic to have more kids, young professionals for example, who might otherwise hold off until they are much older at which point it's both more risky, more expensive, and less good for the economy due to larger generation gaps.

Yeah, but that's directly contrary to this change in the interests of being perceived to hit the 'rich'. It's nonsense.

If you're going to do it, do it right.

[kalniel]

Yeah, but that's directly contrary to this change in the interests of being perceived to hit the 'rich'. It's nonsense.

If you're going to do it, do it right.

Is anyone seriously expecting a Tory led govt. to make a budget that hits the rich? That's completely contrary to their vision of how to improve the country. They got the most votes, so people must know what they voted for?

[roachcoach]

Is anyone seriously expecting a Tory led govt. to make a budget that hits the rich? That's completely contrary to their vision of how to improve the country. They got the most votes, so people must know what they voted for?

That was the entire point of this [specific] change you know...

[Kata]

Young professionals can easily afford kids. What they can't afford is the time off from their career, and child benefit won't affect that.