The 2 child benefit cap lift will be cancelled out by the weekly benefit cap

[Pinkbowls]

I keep seeing all this talk about families with 6+ kids “racking it in” if the two-child benefit cap is lifted, and honestly, it’s hogwash. Here’s the reality:

If the Labour government does lift the two-child cap, it will mainly help low-income working families and families who are claiming disability benefits. These households aren’t subject to the cap, so the poorest families and those who genuinely need extra support for a third or fourth child are the ones who will benefit.

For a single adult with two children outside London, the monthly benefit cap is around £1,832 (~£423 per week). In London, it’s higher, about £2,108 per month (~£486 per week).

Now let’s break it down roughly for someone renting privately:

• Assume the standard allowance + personal allowance for the adult + child elements (for 2 kids) = around £1,200–£1,300/month.
• Private rent in many parts of the UK, and especially in London, can easily eat £800–£1,200/month.
• Add council tax support (which helps a bit, but only partially) and you can see that most of the cap is already taken up.

So in reality, lifting the two-child cap doesn’t suddenly create a pile of extra cash. For families on benefits but below the cap, the extra child element for a third or fourth child may only leave a modest amount after rent and council tax.

The idea that parents with 6+ children will suddenly be sitting on a fortune is completely overblown. The system is designed so that the support goes to those who genuinely need it, not to families already comfortably above the threshold.

The main winners of this policy will be:

• Low-income working families who are earning enough to be under the cap and can actually receive the child element for additional children.
• Families claiming disability benefits, who aren’t subject to the cap at all.

It’s important to separate myths from reality: this is about helping the most vulnerable and supporting working families, not about rewarding large families for being on benefits.

Did you read the post? He was GOING FOR INTERVIEWS.

There are some astounding statistics in the Telegraph this morning. 4 million of the 8 million on benefits dont need to look for work and 85% of those are off work due to mental health or behavioural issues. Not physical disability. And the cost is set to rise to £100bn/ year which is twice the defence budget.

You think it's entitled to believe it's a good thing our society supports the needy? That tells me all I need to know about you.

Did anyone see the woman on Question Time who was claiming for ‘anxiety’ yet perfectly fine to broadcast her views in realtime in front of an audience of hundreds of thousands/millions?

That's just not good enough, how very dare he not be in two places at once?!

Disability is somewhat of a red herring other than to maybe question whether it is a fair exemption to the benefit cap if the two child cap is lifted. You could end up with a family with significantly more than another family with the same number of children just because one of the members of the family is disabled. We are talking about potentially tens of thousands of pounds different so it won't be insignificant.

I can only go by the forms I had to fill in!
My child has one hour a day at school, can not dress themselves,still drinks from a babys bottle.
Needs constant supervision, it was extremely difficult to do and I needed loads of evidence to do so!

Go on then. Who on this thread or in the world owes you a living?

Check your privilege. You are in a country that cares. Unlike most countries in the rest of the world.

Which of those statements (which is in my original post that you are responding to) is untrue?

Naive response. He will have accountants doing everything they can to ensure people like him pay as little tax as possible.

In fact if the wealthy paid their fair share, the country would not be so fucked up. It is the very rich dodging taxes hurting us more than those on benefits.

But I do also agree that the benefits system is unsustainable and needs a complete overhaul. The two viewpoints are possible if you’re a critical thinker. Blaming “benefit scroungers” for everything is just lazy.

It's not a lot when you think about London rents!

Brooklyn Beckham lives in America. Why should he be paying tax here? This is insane.

I absolutely don't blame a wealthy person paying as little tax as possible when what the tax is spent on seems to be completely undemocratic. Nobody has voted for this cap to be lifted and yet it will be.

Naive response. If he pays more tax than claims in benefits or services (which he will) he is a net giver rather than taker. That's why we need millionaires in this country no matter their work status.

We all know that a tiny proportion of very rich people pay more than 30% of the tax. One Brooklyn Beckham is going to be financially worth a lot more to a country than 1000 people on benefits.

But they love bashing benefit claimants and bootlicking the rich who evade paying tax. Any evidence provided to them that their position is ridiculous just ruins their fun

I don't even live in London, and average rent for a 2 bed here is £1200-1300. Council tax is over £100, even with a reduction.

As an aside, i really fancy steak. How do I get my government funded one ?

But a rich person is going to be a lot more use to taxpayers than a person on benefits. We need more rich people and less people on benefits. Obviously.

A lot of very rich people avoid paying tax altogether, so not much more use than a person on benefits. Ask a top tax accountant how much tax they are able to evade for someone with enough wealth to pay them for their services.

That's simply not true. The top 1% pay 30% of tax.

I'm not sure you can really argue that anyone on benefits will make a similar contribution?

You appear to be assuming I'm a benefit claimant myself. Why?

Tax evasion is illegal and hard to get away with if you're doing it with large sums of money. Have you had any contact with HMRC? The majority of tax evasion is actually usually due to error or someone not taking reasonable care as opposed to out and out fraud. Also tax evasion encompasses the black market which is primarily populated by those who aren't rich at all.

Tax avoidance is perfectly legal and something most people engage with. Does anyone really pay more tax than they absolutely have to? It's not just the rich. We all love a duty free shop. Our tax system has such ridiculous cliff edges that you would be absolutely mad not to try to avoid them. I'm not talking about massively high earners either.

Ok. Replace "you" for "one". Your own circumstances are irrelevant.

Err no, not when they're literally avoidant paying any tax on their wealth how exactly? I don't think you or some posters even understand how these people avoid paying tax.They are still using our services while their wealth can literally double and pay no tax contribution even if their wealth has for from £1mil to £10mil and you think they're.more use to use than the street sweeper who might need a UC top up on top of his wages because he's paid piss poor? I don't see how that's obvious at all.

Just look at the OBR stats and come back to us.

1% of the rich pay 30% of income tax.

Why do the top 1% pay 30% of tax raised in this country if they are all avoiding paying tax? The fact this makes no sense won't stop you though. You will keep believing that we need more welfare deponents rather than people actually contributing to the coffers

It actually made me chuckle. Which is unusual these days....