Bloody W**NKing Tax credits! Or Government should I say

[Hai1988]

Just had my new tax credits award and have just found out that my DH's Working tax credits are being stopped as he has already had his lot for this year, £800!!!

My DH does not have a very well payed job at all and after rent and bills we have f**K all left and the weekly income of £140 really helped that is now just over £50.

So angry We need that extra £80 a week, I know it may not sound much to some but it did make a big difference to out life's.

Who ever voted Tory I hope your happy with yourselves that now so many family's are probably gonna struggle now.

Sorry not really an aibu but really needed to vent and wondered if anyone else is suffering with tax credits this year because of the dam government.

Not strictly relevant, but I don't buy all this bollocks about the country being skint. There seems to be plenty of cash about for forays into Libya/Banks/bailing out Euro zone countries (wouldn't mind, but we don't even have the bloody Euro). I don't think MP's will be losing out on pensions. I think the govt only pleads poverty when they are expected to spend some of our money on us.

Anyway, as you were...

Yes, we do need refuse collectors, shop workers etc and of course not everyone is on a great income, but at the same time, there are CHOICES in life. The op doesn't mention working herself, so if she isn't, or only works part time, then thats a Choice. Her husband could always look for higher paid work too. It might be more pressure, or require more skills, or involve more risks- but hey, that's life isn't it. I sometimes think it would be nice to have a low stress job but the reality is, bills need to be paid. Tax credits were a daft idea in the first place, and has resulted in vast numbers of people believing that they are entitled to this money and they are making life decisions based on it, eg having another child, or remaining in a part time job rather than stepping up to full time. And its pathetic to blame people for voting for a particular party- wake up, look at the last few decades- if you think labour made a fantastic job of it then you must be barking mad. These are tough times for all of us- cost of living going up, pay freezes, cuts etc- but bleating that you are losing something which was always an 'extra' and not earned income is not going to elicit huge sympathy

But janey if everyone was doing these higher paid, skilled jobs, who would empty the bins and work in the shops. Those jobs are as essential to a functioning society as doctors and teachers.

I'd like to know where all these higher paid jobs are too. Wasn't aware that there's so many of them about that you can just decide to have one and lo and behold one will appear!

sympathies OP, thats tough :(

if wages were proportionate to the cost of living we wouldn't even need the stupid bloody things.

If they take away WTC then they will also have to readjust the tax codes once again to allow for people with children to take home more in their pay packet.
It's swings and roundabouts really. They take a standard tax and then if necessary give some back. That's it.
It's a tax relief the same as before they existed and we all paid different levels of tax.

My family rely on it. Nothing wrong with that. If we didn't get that the govt would need to take less tax of husband to make up for the loss. Simple really.

Is it a choice to not have the brain power or skills to be able to aquire the relevant quailfications in order to get a higher paid job?

Not saying all people in lower paid jobs are dim, but some simply will never be in the position to get a higher paid job.

Its bollocks the just get a higher paid job then. If all the people who had the lower paid jobs got higher paid jobs who would be out collecting your rubbish and looking after your child while you go to your higher paid job?

If only it were that simple that you can decide you want a higher paid job and one conveniently appears!

For 'me, it meant university, then further training while on a very low income, moving a couple of hundred miles from my home town, waiting til well over 30 to begin my family, and then returning to work after each maternity leave (six months) and working for no net gain when they were all young. Not everyone is prepared to do those things, which obviously then restricts the choices available. I am not suggesting life is simple- but I do think there is too much of an attitude of expecting things automatically these days, which has led to unrealistic expectations

Oh yawn, not another 'the benefits bill broke us'.
The actual reason is much more complex than that. There were other areas of expenditure where the outgoings were greater than the income.

This is not solely a benefits issue.

Plus, if everyone has a high paid job then who does the lowly paid stuff? Who does the childcare for example, notoriously a low paid profession.

People should be able to earn a living wage in this country. Something is very wrong that for many they cannot exist without top ups.

I am sorry OP.

It must be stressful.

Is there anything in your personal situation you see changing?

I agree with karma sometimes essential jobs do not pay well ...

People that do these jobs deserve a living wage,if not then the Government has no choice but to make certain provision for them to live without starving.

janey sometimes they will not get those options you had ever :)

I do admire you for being organized and bettering yourself ... but please be grateful you could .

We get tax credits of about £40 a month. Is that working tax credit or is it a different thing? My DH works full time and I am self employed but have earnt only a few hundred pounds a year over the last few years due to also being a full time mum.

It all confuses me! It seems very low compared to what the OP was getting. We have 2 small children, 1 of which is at school.

Well said Glitter.

The word 'Bankers' springs to mind!

Let's all bash those on benefits. hey while we're at it let's bash a few who are single parents too; the route of all evil according to some! (even though the overall % of single parents is very low in the UK)
The country aint that skint; we've just sent 814 million to a 1/3rd world country for jabs for a start. Surely it would be more beneficial to look after ones own first. They will be the ones paying our pensions (if they still exist by then) as not everyone will be in the enviable position of funding a high private pension and will be forced to rely on the state.
Anyone who wants to say it's wrong to rely on the state; would you say that to the little old lady down the road who worked all her life and raised her kids to pay her pension. Or the man who was a squaddie in the war?
Just curious.
Can tell the nazidaily mail readers!

To say that working tax credits are not a benefit is false. If a childless single person/couple earns the same amount, they get less in their pocket. So it's definitely a benefit.

As for the ludicrous argument that having children is a good thing as one day they will be paying our pensions, that is ponzi scheme economics. My pension will be based on what is in my pot. If the state pension is taken away (and I assume it will be by the time I retire), I have to be able to make sure that I can cope. So I've taken control of my pension myself, and will have to ensure that there's enough in there.

If there's not, its my fault.

This is just another problem with the debt fuelled culture our society runs on.

The people to blame are the banks who lend fake money into existence, and the government for letting them do so, and pillaging everyone later through interest, asset bubbles (like our ridiculous housing market) etc. Before the city was allowed to run amok, single earner families were the norm, and people could afford a house.

People should look deeper into what is going to be affordable before they have children, it's that simple.

which policy was it that meant this?

because this governmant actually increased the amounts awarded, though they altered the thresholds.

tax credits very complex so not clear at all which exact thing your lack of credits may be caused by!

itsybitsy08 Wed 06-Jul-11 18:52:31

Is it a choice to not have the brain power or skills to be able to aquire the relevant quailfications in order to get a higher paid job?

Not saying all people in lower paid jobs are dim, but some simply will never be in the position to get a higher paid job.

I agree. I have several relations who are just not mentally able to do a well paid job or get formal qualifications. My dad for example I suspect has ADD (never diagnosed) and Dyspraxia. He can't concentrate for long enough and breaks everything he touches!

What options are those then joy? You are obviously making some assumptions about my background! FWIW I don't think I'm particularly brainy, I didn't go to a good school and was raised on a council estate.

Hi Hai1988, i noticed you say you are only really wanting to vent, but if you do want practical help, the moneysavingexpert forum is really helpful.

Child tax credits can be obtained without working and paying tax, and they are still called tax credits. That means that tax credits are a benefit.

People should look deeper into what is going to be affordable before they have children, it's that simple.

No it's NOT that simple. I thought I would go back to work after having my children and my mum was going to help with the childcare (couldn't afford to pay for it on my wages) but she died! You can't plan these things.

Janey, you can do all the things you did and life can still go pear shaped. There are a lot of unemployed graduates about. Also, not everyone can go to university, so be grateful that you were able to obtain the necessary qualifications and were given the opportunity.

So are tax credits and working tax credits the same thing?

No janey no assumptions.

The fact that you worked hard to get to where you are is wonderful.

Couldn't care less where you started from, you worked out you wanted change.

Some people will not have the luxury to do that.

There are SO many different reasons why people are where they are at,so many different reasons why they can't change things.

Count your blessings that you could:)

As do I.

In fact, as a family we have a monumental change before us... nerve wracking and life changing ...I am very grateful I have that option.

I worry for those when life gives them no options.

It's not just benefits AND it's not just bankers.
There were huge overspends, on unnecessary wars, countless other reasons money was wasted.
I get angry when the benefits bill is cited as the sole problem. It's not.
Some people have no other choice but to survive on benefits (you certainly can't live on them but you can survive.... just... unless the price increases get worse)

also the notion that a low paid job means less stress and less risk is bollocks and patronising.

my DP lost his well paid job 2 years ago, he had worked his way up from being 16. he is not the most academically gifted. he struggled to get any job for a long time despite exploring all avenues and sending off for every job going.
he finally got a NMW job in a recycling plant. he is at risk every time he goes in of being involved in a factory accident. he is under tremendous pressure and stress to meet targets. he works for 40 hours per week at least in a very physical job and I have never seen someone look so knackered. he is working himself into a early grave.

many men up and down the country do the same and to suggest that they chose to live like that and dont deserve to have children is just unbelievable.

they may recieve tax credits but they are showing a good strong work ethic to their children.

dont tar everyone with the same brush. not everything is so black and white.

Having said that I do believe the banks should bear some responsibility because their lending policies lead to unnaturally inflated house prices, which have contributed to the cost of living being unaffordable to those in low paid jobs.