To think 'in your face Osborne?'

[Littlefluffyclouds81]

I'm not. I know I'm not. I'm personally going to have a glass of wine and celebrate there being a significant amount of egg on the Tories' faces.

Paddletoni I completely agree with you, someone earning 35k should not be claiming tax credits. As a family who receive no finicial help from government I find it worrying those earning above average salaries aren't in a position to support themselves. I would suggest they review how money is spend in the family .... £50 phone bill seems excessive to me! Maybe milksnatcher was right about lifestyle choices.

Yes childcare costs are high but most of the examples given state using nurseries, childminder are generally cheaper.

None of the examples mention the availability childcare vouchers that act as salary sacrifice from there tax bill?

One final point the government were elected on the basis they were going to make welfare cuts. Tax credits are part of the welfare system. Therefore the government have every right to review them in my opinion.

A family on 35k with 2 kids only gets a couple of hundred per year i think so its not usually a big deal and not why the house of lords was in uproar about tax credits being removed. Its only those who are reimbursed a percentage of childcare costs who get more. If they didnt, they would be better off earning less or not working hence why people talk about tax credits as 'making work pay'.

The changes to tax credits would have left some children in extreme poverty. I am not ok with that. Why are you?

mummy If they wished to make cuts to tax credits, then the intention should have been stated in their manifesto, it could then have gone to the HoL as a bill, and be protected by financial statute. It wasn't in their manifesto, and David Cameron specifically stated (I think it was the leadership debates) that he would not cut tax credits.

Do you honestly think there are enough childminders to cover all the childcare needs in the UK?

I also receive no financial help whatsoever from the government, and have seen our tax burden increase significantly under the Tories, but I have no wish to see those on low earnings suffer. It's not so long ago that I remember what it was like to wonder how I was going to pay the mortgage and clothe the kids.

You cannot cut, then wait for the compensatory measures to catch up.

I agree £35k is not low earnings, but I suspect the level of help given to a household on that income will be small, and in the form of childcare credits. I am not the expert here though.

someone on 35k is getting nearly a grands worth of credit (as stated in someone's example up thread) bringing their net income to about £3,300 per month! I earn nearly £50k and take home £2,600 per month and get no help

Agree. Which is what's wrong with the TC system at the moment. It desperately needs a review.

I also think tax needs to be looked at - a household income of £50k sounds nice. But if that's from a two parent family where the adults earn £25k each then your net income is going to be £300 a month more than a single parent on £50k.

Without mentioning the ridiculous rules about CB they have atm. CB should also be fully means tested IMO, based on household income.

As I illustrated a few posts ago, a single parent on 35k with 2 children in full time nursery (in a fairly cheap area of the country), would have £600 left per month after paying for that childcare. If any of the people saying that those earning 35k should not get tax credits can pay their mortgage, food, petrol, utility bills with £600pm then I would like some tips

The poster who says she earns 50k, brings home £2,600pm and doesn't get any tax credits - if you also had to pay £1500pm in childcare fees, then you would get some tax credits (I'd estimate about £300pm). If you don't pay for childcare, then you don't need tax credits, just as the woman on 35k would not need, and would not get, tax credits once she is not paying for childcare.

Tax credits ensure that everyone has an acceptable level of income, after the costs of childcare are paid for. The alternative would be that the woman in my example would have to give up work while her children were small, and then likely end up in less well paid employment when she did go back. Meaning that she would probably end up relying on tax credits for much longer than she would if she had continued in her career.

I would suggest they review how money is spend in the family .... £50 phone bill seems excessive to me!

Two adults with a mobile phone each plus an internet connection at home, £50 would be about right.

The poster who says she earns 50k, brings home £2,600pm and doesn't get any tax credits - if you also had to pay £1500pm in childcare fees, then you would get some tax credits (I'd estimate about £300pm)

Just did an entitled to example - this gives £140pm Tax Credits.

As for childcare vouchers, not everywhere accepts them. And I agree about nursery fees.

The nursery nearest us charges £5 an hour, meals and snacks not included so you have to pay extra for these, plus a flat rate of £10 per week for 'activities and materials' (e.g., paint, paper, etc). They don't take childcare vouchers and they don't offer the free places for 2 year olds. They're able to offer 50 places for children aged 0-12.

I'm a childminder. I charge £4 per hour which includes all meals, snacks, activities, and materials. I do take childcare vouchers and plan to start offering free places once I have my inspection. I can only care for three children at a time on top of my own three.

People often do t have a great deal of choice in which childcare to use and it's often the expensive nursery who has vacancies as opposed to the cheaper childminder, which is partly why childcare fees can be so high.

SummerNights, we must be entering different details as I've just got £329pm from the same calculator, and would get the same from a manual calculation.

As a lone parent I have no choice in the kind of childcare I use. I must use a nursery because I am already having to deal with my own sickness and that of three children. My childcare must be 100% reliable and childminders really aren't.

There we go methemummy put your claim in!

35k is also slightly less than 2 people on median wage earn
Do some posters think it is too much to help mr and ms average wage to bring up their average number of kids by supporting their childcare costs for a few years? How tight

Stormy mobile phones or Internet are not a necessary spending. They are a luxury items and. Therefor not the definition of a poor family. This countries understanding of poverty is what is wrong.

One of the major thing about tax credits is it has covered up the fact that successive governments and many firms have not paid inflation level pay rises for years.

Basically meaning that as childcare, housing and basics have got more expensive that people's wages haven't kept up. Oh and please don't come here stating that we have "wage growth" at the moment, that is only because inflation is negative or has been so low this year because of oil. In the last 5 years inflation has been at about 6% per anum and wages have risen at 1% on average. This means that your average worker has lost 5% of their spending power PER YEAR during this time.

Also neither the government nor firms have acknowledged that because of the size of inflation that jobs that used to be well paid and in the higher rate of tax, are now no longer that well paid in comparison to the cost of living, yet are paying HRT.

Its been a sticking plaster on much larger wound, and if ripped off will cause a lot more pain than the current administration think.

Go on methemummy on your wage that is higher than 90% of the uk population. Tell the poor how to save money. Perhaps they should eat cake?

methemummy Internet access a luxury item...really!!

If people on £35k don't need tax credits, can it be assumed that it is a myth that key workers struggle to live near Greater London and other expensive areas?

of course they shouldn't need tax credits, but the salaries of many workers in receipt of tax credits are paid by the government.

memummy Internet access? I would argue that if it isn't now, it will be in a few years time!

May I ask, and you are welcome to not answer of course, whether you claim Child Benefit?

Yes Internet is a luxury item. It is not needed for survival. As is sky tv and mobile phones.

Pingu I would be interested to know why it is essential?

Altho 50k after tax is more than 2600 isnt it per month?

As are the disabled who are being hit by cuts

Yep, and no one will give a toss when we're hit to pay for this. No one will stand up in the Lords on our behalf, no one will worry about how much we're going to lose.

I do hope that those who have fought so hard against these cuts do so also for others such as the disabled who maybe targeted.

Unfortunately Iike pp have said, I'm not sure that they will.

Otto someone earing 50k is a higher rate tax payer therefore taxed at 40%.

This countries understanding of poverty is what is wrong

Oh, how I agree; the amount of money that is wasted on mobile phones and on the Internet is shocking. They are both necessary to modern life, but their excessive use for gaming and social media is not.

For the part of their income over the higher rate threshold. Not all of their earnings.

nottoday I agree with you.