pslewis

Chancellor has just announced that Child Benefit will not be paid to those paying Higher Rate Tax.

Sounds fair on the surface, but isn't it just Middle England paying once again?

To my mind, a better solution would be to pay it for the 1st child ..... this could be done in addition to the cut for the better off.

bigsinky

so if you earn £43k and your wife earns 43K you still qualify for child benefit. how is that fair to those that earn over £44K a year as a main earner.

Evolution Stu

iTrader: (2)

I say abolish it altogether. Why the hell have we ever paid people because they had children?

Turbo2

Looks like a lot of people will miraculously be earning 43k from 2013, then. Could cost the Govt a fortune in lost revenue.

TinyTim

iTrader: (3)

I can see why they done it, but would it not be wiser to clamp down on the soap dodging skanks that live of those of us that work?

RJM25R

iTrader: (1)

Let's put it in simple terms though. £20 a week or whatever, if you earn over 43k it's hardly relevant!

David Lock

According to Today programme this morning only around 20% of people pay higher rate tax and median income is £20k. So this is not "middle income" being hit.

Looking around at many kids today there might even be a case for paying some families NOT to have kids

dl

4ndy

iTrader: (7)

I have to agree and thats coming from somebody with two children, it makes me sick that theres couples churning out kids for more benefit claims.
Scrap the lot as well as job seekers after 12 months claiming with no positive feedback from potential employers during interviews.

Makes my blood boil knowing that I'm up at 5.15am every morning sat on M1 trying to make an honest living for my family and just getting by and joe bloggs is laid in bed counting his benefit money picking his **** all day.

Rant over

EddScott

Great opportunity for the government to pay for high rate earners pension contribution more likely.

Earn 49K, make 6K pension contribution, get 40% relief on the 6K AND you get child benefit to help fund the contribution.

As for the 43K each = benefit, 44K joint = no benefit. The government deserves an almighty facepalm for that ill-conceived idea. Surely it should be per household?

tony de wonderful

The middle-classes don't need this benefit, the gov should cut even further into 'middle class welfare' and that includes artificially keeping house prices high.

Turbo2

Can you remind us all of this in 2013?

Evolution Stu

iTrader: (2)

Good point, to clarify my statement further, I have four kids and three grandchildren and still think its ridiculous.

tony de wonderful

I find that hard to believe but then not everyone is a middle-class graduate with a career. Personally I don't see £43k a year as 'rich', but then lots of the population do jobs like stack beans in Tesco and work as office drones on £20k a year.

Coffin Dodger

I would have agreed with that sentiment until fairly recently, unfortunately 'er indoors has decided she wants a sprog so we are trying

So this is now one bit of potential Tory policy that is going to **** me off. Just because we've chosen to pursue careers and have now hit a point in our mid thirties when we think we're ready for kids, have the means to support them (I'd call it being responsible) and also have both been paying into the tax and NI system for 15-17 years (and a fair percentage of that at high rate) thought it would be our chance to claw a little back from the system.

But no, now even more of my tax is going to support the irresponsible and stupid who chose to have loads of kids from teenage years, with no means to support them, just expecting big handouts from the state, which is ultimately my from pocket

I know it's not much, £1055.60 a year for one kid, though is that taxed as assuming it wasn't this amounts to £1759 before 40% is applied, would have been a nice little extra bit of cash to have

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

Lets also kill off any pensioners without kids. why should we the workers be supporting people in their old age? They should have had kids who would work and pay taxes to support them instead. Kill off the unsustainable old!

5t.

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Couldn't agree more.

Jamz3k

I take it, you have never had to live on £12k a year then.

Hysteria1983

Couldn't agree more!!

I have two children, and I would be fine without it.

tony de wonderful

I've lived on much less than that when I was a student.

Jamz3k

thats a fair bit different than living in the real world now.

Saying that 43k is not rich, is well quite "rich". On 43k a person can live, on 12k someone only surrives from one month to the next its hardly living.

hodgy0_2

will hit me to the tune of £300 a month

c'est la vie

(wife might have to go on the game)

Evolution Stu

iTrader: (2)

What a ridiculous reply to my statement.

Ant

You had a house and family when you was a student?

I could live off 12k if I was a student.

Personally they'd save more money cutting the benefits to the people who don't work.

This girl I know had a kid at 18 she's 21 now not worked gets around a 1k a month benifits and goes out on the p*ss 3 times a week!

bigsinky

I have prosecuted steel fitters earning £1500 a week, because they claimed their £36 a week Income Support. this was 15 years ago and the story still holds true today. it is pure greed.

Leslie

I don't think there should be any child benefit. The world is getting overpopulated anyway.

Les

JonMc

iTrader: (51)

What grips me about all of this is not the cutting or curbing of benefits, it is who pays for it. I left school at 17 and have not been without a job for the last 20 years. I've worked for the same firm for 18 years and in that time had 6 days off sick. I've worked hard, been promoted and am now in the higher tax band. The harder I work, the more I give to the chancellor and the less I get back. I work my *** off so some cheeky immigrant or scummy freeloader can sit at home, allegedly below the breadline, churning out fat waste-of-space kids and taking £100k a year in benefits. I don't know why I bother but I am seriously considering taking a break, as I am fed up of working so hard, and living off society for a few years so I can enjoy watching my kids grow up

Rant over!!!!!!

David Lock

Perhaps old people should be put down at birth

dl

Ant

Well said

EddScott

Its these people that government know pi55es the population off but the new regs are highly unlikely to actually tackle the problem. In the BBC article you've got Barnados banging on about kids in poverty - the government looks bad if kids are in poverty. Miss 18 year old loose knickers bangs out half a dozen kids yet the state only gives her money for the first 2, imagine the backlash and the Daily Fail articles. Catch 22.

When we first moved into our home we had only my income and that was £11K. It was only the fact that we knew the building society manager that he let it through. Those that think that earnings of £40K a year isn't a good wage are really out of touch with reality or too arogant to care.