Thank goodness tax rise scrapped

[Jems557]

So we’re a blended large family, so after maintenance and all the outgoings for our large combined family we don’t have very much left at all, as obviously we need a big house so our mortgage and council tax is a lot, we need a bigger than average (although several year old) car etc. However we don’t claim any benefits, my DH works hard to provide for his and our children but so much is taken in tax anmd maintenance already, there is no tax allowance for raising children. This would of hit us hard

They are the can of worms:

'Wealth in the UK is highly concentrated, with the wealthiest 10% of households holding nearly 60% of total wealth, while the bottom 50% hold less than 5%. The top 1% own about 23% of all wealth, and the wealthiest 10% have a wealth of over £1.2 million, compared to £16,500 or less for the least wealthy 10%. Wealth inequality is more severe than income inequality, primarily driven by property and private pension wealth, and has increased since the 1980s.'

But never let the facts get in the way of a nice spot of poor-bashing, eh?

They'll still rob you blind. They'll just take from your back pockets instead of the front ones.

Don't fall for it.

I’m not asking for your sympathy for the maintenance my DH pays alongside also caring for our DSC, he happily pays it. It would just be fairer for the tax system to take account of children you are maintaining in whichever way.

Extra VAT on fast food, booze, fags etc. would help. Raise it to 25% on all non essentials and luxury goods, then the burden shifts to those most able to afford it.
Why don’t they put cameras on every traffic light and fine the fuckers who go through on red £250 a pop too? They’d make an absolute fortune doing that.

Tax on tobacco is currently 80% in the UK, so reducing it to 25%, while it would delight smokers, wouldn't help the economy. Although having said that, so many smokers obtain their tobacco from abroad by various means and with various degrees of legitimnacy, paying no UK tax at all on it, the government might actually make more money if they reduced it to a more affordable 25% which people might actually pay.

I think this illustrates how much of an echo chamber some people are living in

They are contributing to our pensions.

If you look at the tax system as a way of encouraging behaviour, why should it encourage non-nuclear families?

I can imagine quite a few on here would disbelieve you as no idea how the tax system works or are middle earners without large mortgages, with family perks etc. However I had to tell DH we’d be worse off if he earned 100k while we’re still paying for childcare and as a single parent on top ups I could afford more than we can even now

All that would do is benefit the next Govt, it doesn't raise any money right now

Atm all Labour have done is keep the Conservatives threshold freezes, i doubt she will extend these, as all that would do is help the next Govt, which probably wont be Labour.

Anyway, i follow the financial markets closely and obviously the Govt, Reeves never announced any income tax increases, so how can she scrap them?

Why should it encourage people who are single parents to remain so by penalising them and their children for not doing so?

FYI my DH and I met several years after the end of our 1st marriages and I actually get on very well with his ex

There is a significant amount that is not going to pensions.

I'm struggling to believe it because I AM on UC and I'm definitely not similar to a household with a 100k income or having multiple holidays a year.

You know that thing that we tell people on benefits to not have children that they can’t afford/don’t want to pay for?

That.

You ve got a good point, the system does not take into account blended families, doing the right thing, with mtce being paid.

But our tax system needs simplifying, not adding in more exemptions etc so i don't know what could be done.

The intention was there hence the press conference. The 2p up and 2p down came back with little extra and apparently there’s now only £20bn to fill.

Still going against the pledge after ‘24 on no more hikes to fill that.

Were you on tax credits when you were a single parent, OP? UC is nowhere as generous and you most definitely have more money than most on UC.

What a loving father who has shared care for his children and pays full maintenance, without trying to hide any of his income or fight for primary residence to get out of paying anything. . Dare any man move on with his life in any way following an amicable divorce?? Especially if he’s a higher earner 🤷🏻‍♀️ Well don’t stress too much about a queue of such men lining up at your door

Yes I was, some people were better off on TC and some on UC, I used to lose 95% + of any extra overtime earned on between TC and housing benefit, quite a crazy system. I did the overtime when I could for my patients and colleagues, but it did always create quite an admin headache as the housing benefit would be completely recalculated (usually incorrectly) I didn’t have 6k in savings so that didn’t affect me (and would have affected HB anyway) and earned above the earnings threshold now required for UC (in equivalent NMW terms) so that wasn’t an issue either. I also would of benefitted from 85% of my childcare costs being paid compared to 70% under TC

I think financially acknowledging children as full valuable citizens, not just the equivalent of a pet or ornament of their parents would be quite a positive fundamental change in society. I received top up benefits when my older children were younger but my older DC now all work full time (1 as a nurse and 1 in the fire service) and pay taxes. I don’t think a disregard equivalent to the current adult personal allowance would be just another quirk to the tax system and for all those parents who say they don’t need it then just give the money to charity or just don’t claim it.
Also getting rid of quirks of the student maintenance loan system, e.g the assessment of a step parent’s income, effectively making a step parent being obliged to pay £5k + a year to support their step child through university (not legally obliged but leaves the step child high and dry if they don’t)

But children aren’t really financially valuable until they reach adulthood and start to pay back in.

They’re a direct cost to the economy, and financially are just an accessory to parents. My children contribute zero to the economy, and take a great deal out of my personal bank account!

I’m assuming by equivalent to you don’t mean to the same value as the adult personal allowance? People with multiple children would end up 0% tax payers. Which obviously isn’t sustainable.

It really depends on your circumstances, when I was on top ups my rent was £600 a month which was fully covered, 70% of my childcare costs were covered and I only had myself and children to feed and clothe, 1 small car to maintain, reduced council tax which mainly also paid for, reduced water bills, help towards various costs etc. Budgeting well I was reasonably comfortable, I didn’t have any credit card debt, had a 3 year old decent car and could afford for us to have the odd treat, extra curricular activities for the children and modest holiday or 2 (eurocamp etc) Quite different to what we can afford now and if we lost the funded hours and tax free childcare then we would be worse off than the extra my DH would earn being on 100k

For children to be considered ‘valued’ valuable citizens, the vast majority of whom do and will go on to contribute in many positive ways to society and even those whose contribution is more limited for whatever reason, should still be valued. I’m sure many on UC would prefer a tax reduction over all the admin of claiming UC, not to mention the cost of all of the admin to the government. For many in the squeezed middle it would make a huge difference and I’ve no doubt it would boost the economy and productivity, the most important thing is the fairness it would introduce to the tax system

Gosh, the only kickback we had from government during our really struggling years was child benefit.

?