AIBU to claim child benefit?

[tooposhtopost]

This morning, I heard a minister being interviewed (didn't catch who) saying that he hoped that 40% tax payers would "do the right thing" and stop claiming child benefit.

The top earners already pay 50% tax, get no tax relief on our pension contributions and often do not overburden the state (eg private education for the DC, private healthcare).

I have always claimed CB - well, it arrives by direct debit. I have seen it as a tiny weeny small rebate of tax in recognition of the fact that we have the extra cost of having children who will be the ones supporting all of us when we get old. So should I be disclaiming it?

Who else would like to know if any government ministers (or their wives) claim CB or whether they are leading by example and eschewing it?

Erm I didn't say anything about Duchesse's spending! Everyone has their priorities, we scrimp and save to pay for ours.

Osborne's decision is a blunt object wielded by someone with limited empathy and limited understanding. There are much much better ways of proceeding that swiping CB and I predict this will cost the Coalition dearly.

Have emailed my (Tory) MP so he can have my thoughts...dh also happens to meet him occasionally on Sat mornings so shall prime him so he can have a chat.

Growing up very poor taught me a thing or two about what matters. For me, good shoes are essential for children. Clothes can be recycled until they fall apart, but you don't get your feet back. Also I am very careful with food- we don't buy biscuits or puddings, we eat meat only 3 times a week, we don't buy expensive cereal, fizzy pop or anything like that. We think very carefully about where we are going are which car/form of transport to limit expense- sometimes it is cheaper for me to go and fetch the children from school (gotta go soon actually), sometimes cheaper for them to take the bus.

I am in the very lucky and enviable position of having to think carefully about our expenses but not having to worry myself sick about where the next pennies are coming from. For this I feel grateful and able to share some- with our neighbour when I can, and with our sponsored child as a regular expense. It is always a fine balancing act though. I don't know where people get the idea that if you earn x pounds more than them then you must have horses and 4x4s.

I'd feel like a pig in clover if we had a £53k income

ROLF @ "latte" money - no no no -she's got that all wrong - my IS is my latte money (although I prefer cappuccino)

Latte money??? I even take my lunch to work to save money! CB pays for about 9% of my childcare costs. Maybe not a lot to some people but it is to us. Basically it's will be like taking a 9% pay cut when we lose our CB.

Ditto Poogles again, my income twin.

No-one's saying that CB isn't important for those on less than £44k - just that it's also important for those on around £44k, and perhaps more, as it's a large part of their annual income .

How rich you are on £44k depends on how much your major fixed costs are (eg housing).

PS And childcare of course

I think Dr Samantha Callan is right. I also think CB is supposed to benefit the child, no matter what the income of the parents. Some people will use it with their children in mind, others have no idea it arrives every month because they wouldn't miss it. An income bracket doesn't necessarily identify the families who would be worse off - although obviously high income folks don't really need it. But it is for children, who have no income. It recognises and supports families with children - who all so have a special social responsibility to bring up their kids to the best of their ability to become contributors to their communities - whether financially or in other ways. People without kids don't have this life-time job, obviously.

I am torn between thinking it's right to minimise the number of people claiming it and completely wrong for it not to be universal because it recognises and supports the extra emotional, social and financial responsibilities of all people who raise children.

I haven't had time to read the whole thread (sorry ), but I can see where the op is coming from with the 'tiny rebate' comment, however, I am glad that the government are means testing CB now, as I cannot understand how people earning over 44k justify claiming it in the first place.
If I had that much coming in, I would have enough saved up to buy my council house out-right!!!
Our total income, including CB and tax credits, is just over 17k, we're not loaded, have to save up for stuff e.t.c, but we're certainly not impoverished, and DS doesn't go without.
It just gets on my tits when people who earn over 3 times as much as us moan that they're skint, ok they probably own houses which are more expensive than my rent, but if I was on that money, there's no way I'd be moaning that I'm skint, I'd feel like a millionaire!!!

We will lose child benefit when it is scrapped for people in higher tax rate. We also just tip into the bracket and yes there are things that we pay for with child benefit that we might have to scrap. But for goodness sake, where do billions of pounds of cuts come from? Better from me who will choose where to cut something out - even if it were moving to house with less mortgage, than from someone who might need to take an extra job or lose their only holiday or not then be able to eat as well. I could go on, but despite this cut directly affecting me and making me smart a bit (we're tightening everywhere anyway) there are thousands who can afford it less. So hopefully OP's point is "ouch this hurts" rather than this is grossly unfair.

I have a definition of skint and it involves not being able to feed, clothe, home and educate your children however or wherever you live. It does not involve not affording pocket money or music lessons, although I do not deny those to anyone. I cannot imagine that many are in that position if on higher rate tax. Sorry. I, and most people, although not all of course, need a wider definition of luxury and a narrower definition of need. That said, everyone lives just within their means, us included and only reins in when the means are challenged. So no criticism of peole with higher rate tax incomes who have nothing left at the end of the month either. But last month we cut down on lots of things, not remotely to beans on toast rations, still activities with children, nutritious food and new trainers for dd and were amazed at how much we saved. And before we weren't eating out, going out or having new clothes that weren't school uniform, needed because no suitable hand me downs or birthday presents, or foreign holiays. It wasn't fun, but at least for us it was a choice. Lots don't have that choice. So child benefit a fair cut, yes.

It depends if 'wealth' is spare cash or assets though doesn't it? DH earns good wedge and I have good earning potential which I tap into slightly by doing project work from home at the moment.
We do however have huge outgoings (really stretched ourselves on house, DH has car he loves etc). So we have a good lifestyle but not lots of spare cash. I recognise that I am extremely lucky and any moaning I might do about money is very silly of me.
I will take my CB until it isn't there anymore as I fell as highearners we've given a lot to the welfare state and anything I'm entitled to back I'm bloody well having .
Also think people forget how bloody hard you work for three figure salaries. It's not like a reward for being clever.

We need child benefit to pay for Henry's elocution lessons. If it is withdrawn he might start dropping his aitches again, and Mrs. Smythe, his teacher, will not be able to pay her bills. The effect on society will be catastropic.

catastrophic....

FWIW OP you are right to claim child benou can. I benefit whilst you can, I believe everyone should claim what the government allows. Just not unfair when in 2013 you no longer can.

I think the threshold for losing CB has been set too low. 44k salary if thats the sole income down South I would imagine would mean that you need that CB money for essentials.

It seems wrong that a household with an income off 44k from one earner will lose it but another household with 2 incomes of 40k, so 80k in total will keep it.

Sorry to all you dissenters - this is purely my personal opinion and is not a judgment on anyone elses view...I pay top whack tax AND claim child benefit as it is the only payback I am ever going to get from the government. I feel especially cross when I look at my paycheck, see the profane amount of tax I have paid then read the paper with the every day stories of scroungers, their ten kids and their whingeing about how they cannot possibly manage in their specially converted 4 bedroom house.
The benefit money goes into my children's bank accounts. I realise we are very fortunate. I also remember being completely skint as a student and wondering people out of work could afford to smoke, drink and go out when I lived off "reduced for quick sale" meat and vegetables and my parent's generosity. It just seems to me that there is no real encouragement to achieve as the alternative is just too damn attractive for a lot of people.
Rant over!

if me taking this painful cut in income means that the people of this country start showing social responsibility then it will be like a little bit of sugar with that bitter pill.
we are all parents on mumsnet and ought to be thinking of how this will affect our children, not just now, but for the future instead of sniping at each other that 'i am poorer than you', for all but an incredibly small number of parents a reduction in income like this IS going to be noticed whether that is through high earning hobbies or funding shoes, no matter what your income, try telling a 15 year old that the 'x' that they are used to is disappearing whilst in the same evening telling them to work hard at their homework so that they can earn a good wage in order to have a good lifestyle. what incentives are left to encourage hard work if you see your hard earned cash taken away, might as well not make the sacrifices and be ambitious to be average

"It just seems to me that there is no real encouragement to achieve as the alternative is just too damn attractive for a lot of people"

Not really. The vast majority of those who depend on benefits are not living the good life. Of course you hear all kinds of stories but that doesn't mean they are common, or even true

You won't be claiming it for too much longer, will you?

I'm a higher rate taxpayer. I'd rather the govt scrapped child benefit for higher earners BUT ALSO did what they could to reduce tax (in the longer term once the deficit is sorted). Taking away with one hand and giving back with the other makes no sense as far as I can see.

By the way, I don't think that the minister on the radio was suggesting that higher rate tax payers should stop claiming CB even while they are still entitled to it. He was saying that after it's scrapped for higher earners, he hopes they will stop claiming it, rather than continue trying to claim it and force the govt to take it back from them through their tax returns.

*disclaimer - haven't read whole thread so sorry if this is repeating.

Poor people on crap salaries work hard too.

Security guards, cleaners, care home workers etc etc.

I am sick of the 'the hard working families lose out again' whinging.

Why does well off = hardworking.

Let me think of the well off people that spring to mind erm Duchess of Kent, Cheryl Cole, Paris Hilton.....

Being well off does not make you a selfish, bitter, grasping bigot does it? Well being poor doesnt make you a smoking, drinking, child popper outer.

Just a quick point fulltime (jolly well done you) being skint as a student is nothing like being skint as a parent.

So you had to buy your meat in the reduced section. Sob.

I dont begrudge you your CB even though my taxes go towards paying it, I think your sterotypical, cliched rant is well, steryotypical and cliched.

How lucky you were to go to Uni instead of straight out to work, how lucky you had parents to support you.

I dont know how old you are know but its perfectly possible that I was subsidising your 3 years in further education with my minimum wage.

People 'forget' just how much they get from the state.