Should child benefit be means tested?

... and the fact that they don't get it doesn't mean that we are going to see a tangible difference on how this money would be used in the benefit of society.

I don't agree. BTW, I receive IS, but I still think it is not fair.

Oh, get over it! EVERYONE who works pays tax. And in actuality, the proportion of the earnings that goes towards taxes is a greater burden for those who are not earning as much.

All this 'Waaa! We pay tax!' is ridiculous.

EVERY country taxes wage-earners.

It's the price you pay for having a peaceful society that allows you to work relatively untroubled and all that goes with that.

Well, high earners are paying huge taxes. Why would they not have a child benefit? If anything, they are getting very little back considering the amount of money they may be asked to pay.

Just looked at that alliance website- inviting it isn't! I've come across a few people lately with the 'why should we pay for your famillies' argument- well, firstly because WE also includes the majority of apents; for some bizarre reason I've nopticed an increasing number of people who seem to fail tor ealise that other people pay ytaxes too- and also becuase our children will be paying your pensions one day.

David Attenborough's solution is not to pay after the second child in order to control population- interesting but the only have the children you can afford argument only works if you can guarantee no bad luck and jobs for life, you're happy to increase the ptressure on people to terminate accidental conceptions, and you ahve an alternative plan for pension paying. Otherwise- ??

Child Benefit is a proxy for a tax allowance for children. The question if you don't have that is what is being done about taxation in general.

One of the things that irritates me about people like the Tax Payers Alliance is their anti-family stance.

yes - over £100K

we don't need it. it goes straight into the DS's child trust funds.

Actually it's more like the tax payer bended over and let Fred Goodwin have his wicked way. If the government weren't so ineffective it wouldn't be a problem.

no no no
it pays for decent shoes x6 twice a year

Don't get me started on Fred Goodwin.

Like I said, it's in the realm of Fred Goodwin giving back the money he stole from the taxpayer.

It's more likely I'd enter a convent, people.

My dh is a doctor, and there is no way we sould get CB, as he earns way over £60k.

I like the fact I get pension recommendation for the years I am getting CB as I am a SAHM. but we shouldn't get money - we don't need it!

Just had a look. If you enter info as a LP not seeking work with one child, child benefit of £20 will automatically come up.

Custardo My dp is earning 50K and I can assure you we cannot afford pimms on the golf course. We receive child benefit and basic tax credits. Yet my dp pays a fortune in Tax and NI. I guess quite a bit of that is going towards paying tax credits to lower income earners. I don't mind this. Its a fair system. Yet Child benefit is the only money I receive directly into my account. I cannot afford to work at the moment is childcare for my 2 children would cost more than I would earn. as my DP is managagement he works long hours so I cannot work evening either.

IvyKaty that's not right! IS is a pittance anyway. Are you sure it wasn't child maintenance? That's a scandal - ask, check and complain!

Look at the main benefits calculator here and play around with it. Child benefit is always added on no matter if someone is earning or not.

Yes it was taken from IS they took money away for the amount you got in cb - although not actually taking the cb away - just the same amount in money. not me at the tiem but people I was volunteering.

Which is rather sad when i you earn then you get cb but at that time if you don't earn it was the only time it was taken away.

I would like to see every child continue to receive cb and not one single child have that money taken away - however much there parents earn or don't earn.

I'm not sure that it should be means tested, but, it really used to annoy me when I was a teenager that we were very, very poor and relised heavily on the family allowance for food, whereas a friend of mine at school used to be given hers as pocket money

IvyKaty since the two years I claimed it for and the four my sister has been doing it. I also have a fair few friends who are LPs.

The whole point of this debate is that child benefit is NOT means-tested therefore no matter how rich or poor you are, you get it. They factor it into IS when calculating what the government says you need to live on.

This doesn't say anything about deductions and neither does any other government page I've looked at.

Did you have it taken away? If so, that's terrible!

Petrol is the most expensive where there is least competition: there's a garage near here (south Wales) that routinely features in papers for being 20p above avergae price.

Likewise food- food costs most when you don't have access to the big supermarkets and have to butb from the local Spar or whatever becuase there is nothing else. I see old aldies in the local who have no car spending twice as much on basics as I do for 6 in the town.

I don'tthink CB should be means testied for the many reasons aloready give, and I think cost of living is very ahrd to assess- house prives a major factor byt access to shops, transport etc all contribute;as we have no train statiopn for example we have to run a seocnd car for dh, as do manjy people around for schoolpurposes- it's quite fiddly really.

W'd get it no matter what,so no pesonal interest here LOL- kust know ther is more to rural ish) living than house prices.

Ninks -since when?

Cos they always took the amount you got in cb of your IS (the exact same amount depending on how many children you had and how much cb was paid out at) and so basicly you didn't get it and as ar as I know that hasn't changed.

I live in the SE and we are always travelling to the Midlands to see the in-laws. Prices in the shops are the same as here.

(Motorway prices remain out-bloody-rageous however - DD had a £5 baked potato last time we stopped )

My MIL lives in Walsall, a suburb of Birmingham and we've been to supermarkets there, my millionaire SIL lives in Worces and it's the same story r.e shopping. Petrol is just as expensive as are utilities.

Rent and house prices are very different though. Not sure about council tax either.

Riven - you may not believe it but it's true.

that's why some salaries have 'london weighting' - the cost of living in London and the south east is notoriously higher than the rest of the UK.