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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask about child tax credit cuts.

478 replies

yellowbird11 · 23/10/2015 16:09

Is it inevitable and if so will it affect everyone? what a massive worry to all of you who are going to be affected.My DD works 16 hours a week and has 1 child. She'd love to do more hours as her child is at school but isn't able to. Can anyone give me any idea how much she'll lose, and when? I'm so worried for her because I know without these tax credits they'll be barely able to eat and keep warm. How can these Tory bs sleep at night?

OP posts:
fanjoforthemammaries7850 · 23/10/2015 17:40

I might want to call someone a bastard if they said they wanted me to be much worse off and claimed to personally fund me.

howabout · 23/10/2015 17:40

Actually I know an ex single mother who was looked after while she raised her child and got her degree under the last Labour government. She now has a DP, a good job and no childcare issues. She is benefiting massively from the increases to PA over the last 5 years and next 5 and will also benefit from rising wages.

Sonnet · 23/10/2015 17:41

Sorry to hear the stress you are under Meglet. I do know how hard it is because there may have been two of us but we only had one parent to help out and my DH ran his own business therefore did not take much annual leave and he definitely couldn't take time off when the children were sick . I worked just to pay childcare. We did not get any tax credits but the whole of my salary was taken up with two full-time nursery places. I also can relate to not having time to chat at the school gates as I had to drop and run. All I can say now though is that life does get better. I now do not need any childcare costs and because I always have worked I am well-established on my career path.
Sometimes I think that the 16 hours and top up with child tax credit's may not be to everybody's long term benefit . Should I have had that option years ago I possibly would have taken it and unfortunately I would not be in the safe secure financial position I am now.

Owllady · 23/10/2015 17:42

I don't think anyone needs to name call either.

Pyjamaramadrama · 23/10/2015 17:43

I actually find people who want to punish the poorer members of society and see the suffer as uncivilised as those who have unlimited children and claim every benefit they can.

Where is the middle ground and the understanding?

bodenbiscuit · 23/10/2015 17:45

A friend of mine managed to set up her own business in the last 3 years. Her business is still quite new and is only just starting to turn enough of a profit for her to be able to pay herself a wages so she relied on TC previously. She employs three people. She works extremely hard - often 7 days a week.

She told me that tax credits are the only reason that she has been able to do this - without them it would not have been possible. She is hoping that by the time hers are cut she won't need them any more.

The Tories are most certainly not on the side of hard working people. They are on the side of the richest 1% in the country and those who never need to use public services. So, in other words very few of us!!

Shakirasma · 23/10/2015 17:46

DH works full time on a low wage. I work a handful of hours a week whilst the kids are at school, term time because my DC3 is disabled and I am his carer.

DC1 turns 18 soon and is off to uni in September. Once all financial support ceases for her at the end of August, plus the government cut in tax credits, we estimate we will be £100 a week worse off.

Original poster
yellowbird11 · 23/10/2015 17:48

My DD is trying to find more work but it's not that easy to get something that ...doesn't interfere with days she does now(3 days)/ and is flexible enough for her to be able to pick her child up from school. It's all very well saying she should do this, should do that. Nothing is that straightforward. Yes she took advantage at the time of being able to work 16 hours, the government were promoting it and she'd have had difficulty working much more because of childcare. The situation wasn't of her making, it's not her fault that the government allows companies to get workers for next to nothing.
Taxpayers who get on their high horse over propping up poorly paid workers should calm down. You don't get to say what your tax goes on, the government gives billions in foreign aid to countries that don't want it. Get on your high horses over that.
The fact is the national minimum wage is ridiculously low and even when it goes up it still won't be a living wage, and it certainly wouldn't justify the slashing of the tax credits.

OP posts:
bodenbiscuit · 23/10/2015 17:50

Quite, yellowbird.

Babyroobs · 23/10/2015 17:52

Yellow - she would get up to 70% of her childcare costs paid from tax credits on top of what she gets now. Does her child's school have an after school/ breakfast club, they are usually very reasonably priced.

Wheretheresawill1 · 23/10/2015 17:54

My parents never had tax credits. They just worked the required hours to make money. Most people should be looking for full time hours. It pees me off that I work full time and have a disability yet others choose to work part time and get their money bumped up. It's not like I feel great working full time but I have to do it to live. I realise it is unpopular- nobody likes to have anything taken away from them particularly when they have got used to having to work a small number of hours. My friend and her partner work opposite shifts- no childcare. Lots of grandparents help with childcare. Lots of people need to learn to cut their cloth and decide what are needs and what are wants. I realise people will be outraged at the suggestion but not everyone thinks cutting tax credits is a bad idea

Everytimeref · 23/10/2015 18:00

Most employers don't want staff to work more than 16hrs because it means the employee would be entitled to sick pay etc.
Full time jobs in the service industry dont really exist, unless you consider working 20hrs a week full time some companies dont want traditional full time staff because its not flexible enough. They prefer to zero hour contracts with the staff fighting for overtime.

Babyroobs · 23/10/2015 18:01

Well said where. I have a colleague who is moaning about the cuts to her child tax creidts. She has a low earning dh and one 15 year old dd yet works just one day a week. The reasons she won't increase her hours or work during the week ( she only works saturdays) is because her dd doesn't like geting herself off to school in the morning. . My 16 year old ds watches his 3 younger siblings for 2 hours in the week when I work a late shift , it's not unreasonable, although I do appreciate that some teenagers are more grown up / resourseful than others.

hampsterdam · 23/10/2015 18:02

This is all just smoke and mirrors to divert your attention away from the fact that big businesses are not paying their taxes.
Point and jeer at the single mums no body will notice the bankers making off with millions in subsidies and landlords raking in all that housing benefit.

Owllady · 23/10/2015 18:04

People didn't even need tax credits years ago. When I had my 16 yr old you could buy a 3 bed house for under 70k
Housing
Housing
Housing
It's the main problem
My blood sugar has dropped and I'm less articulate, apologies

wasonthelist · 23/10/2015 18:05

My parents never had tax credits, but the combination of decent wages and lower housing costs kept them going. It would be easier to accept the cuts if some of the poorest weren't losing out seriously, and if any of the weathly people advocating them were making similar sacrifices.

ahbollocks · 23/10/2015 18:07

It doesn't affect me and dh as such. The only restriction I suppose is that it has made having a second child completely unaffordable. Now I agree that the government shouldn't pay for my child but 2 x childcare bills would wipe out my earnings and then some, without tax credits. I am feeling sorry for those with more than one child.

Babyroobs · 23/10/2015 18:07

Owl - yes housing is a big problem and many of those facing tax credit cuts will get extra Housing benefit if/ when they lose tax creidts. Those with mortgages will obviously get no help to compensate.

Original poster
yellowbird11 · 23/10/2015 18:08

Babyroobs not then she wouldn't have , when her child was younger. Yes she uses after school club 2 days a week.
Wheretheresawill there used to be something called FIS (family income supplement) it used to top up poor pay. It was actually a worse system because once on it, you got it for a full year no matter what the change in circumstances. Well done that you manage to work full time but realistically there isn't that many full time jobs going.
More and more employers are offering zero hours contracts. If you do manage to get a full time job it will quite likely be nat min wage and therefore tax credits will be needed to supplement it. It really is a bit of a vicious circle I'm afraid, but of the governments doing. They're the ones who make the rules.

OP posts:
TogetherLand · 23/10/2015 18:09

.

starlight2007 · 23/10/2015 18:10

Everyone can tell and anecdote.. I worked 37 hours a week ..I am a LP. My DS does not see his Dad. So I do it all on my own..

My Child deserves some time with a parent to raise him.

I was married when I got pregnant and did not expect to be living with WTC...

Do people really believe if WTC didn't exist there tax bill would go down..Do you go to the doctors and consider yourself paying the reception, doctors and Nurses wages ?

I really cannot understand the anger/ disgust at people not earning enough to live on.

Babyroobs · 23/10/2015 18:12

I guess it depends what area of work you are in as to whether full time work is available. My employers are crying out for people to do full time or almost full time work as it is better continuity for patients but that can't recruit staff willing to do so. There is always overtime available, but staff won't do it because they lose tax credits !!

bodenbiscuit · 23/10/2015 18:12

Wheretheresawill - I'm sorry but you are wrong to compare living standards today with how things were with our parents. At one time the cost of living was not ridiculously high. Most people could afford to buy their own homes. Food and energy costs were proportionate to people's wages. They aren't any more! And that's why some people need tax credits.

CookieMonsterIsOnADiet · 23/10/2015 18:14

I'd imagine the people making the cuts work more than sixteen hours and don't claim any TC themselves.

People make choices, if you choose to have children and then not work or do the magic sixteen hours then you are making those decisions knowing the outcome. It's too easy to say the government are blaming the poor when most of those people made their situation themselves.

Rather than keep throwing more money at the situation, it's better to focus on getting people to work more. If that means childcare help goes up then so be it. At least paying that means two people on jobs as the childcare worker will have employment whereas paying people to not work or just do a bit has no benefit at all.

Once it's known TCs are going to be lower, people will have no choice but to start making sensible choices. The other day I recall a post saying the cuts would leave them short but they planned their new child on their "income" which was of tax credits, housing benefit etc.

Harsh measures now will mean a better future for our children rather than the current situation we have now where the lazy are rewarded ahd benefits can give them a greater income than some workers claiming nothing.

bodenbiscuit · 23/10/2015 18:16

You could work 7 days a week and still not have enough money to cover the bills.

Some people just happen to earn more money in a lucrative field. They are lucky, and possibly also savvy to know where the money is. But other poorly paid jobs still need to do done by someone and it is not the fault of the people who do them that they don't get paid enough no matter how hard they work.