So child benefit to go for higher rate taxpayers

[foxinsocks]

So says George osbourne on breakfast telly. Missed the details but sounds like it comes in from 2013!

If I were a single, working mother, I'd be furious about this. If you were earning over £44k, and paying childcare out of that, losing child benefit would be a very substantial blow. And frankly, a mother in those circumstances deserves a medal, not a kick in the teeth.

Unfortunately, Osbourne has thought it through, and realised there will be some inconsistencies, but said they didn't want the means testing to be too complicated. I guess for Osbourne a couple of thousand is neither here nor there, but surely there is someone in the Treasury bright enough to sort out something that would work?

Sounds a bit sudden doesn't it?

It still doesn't address the unfairness for couples. There's still likely to be those who get it with a joint income of £60,000 (both parents earn 30,000 each) and a family income of 50,000 (one earns 45,000, the other earns 5,000) where they don't.

Are there any links to this? I just saw DC on the Sky website and he didn't seem to mention anything about transferring personal allowances.

Bells - yes you are entirely right and justified in the way you feel. This whole thing needs to be thought through again.

Why hit single parents? Makes no sense at all now.

If you have Sky News channel on TV it is scrolling across the bottom as breaking News.

I also heard him say it to Adam Bolton in interview and Adam Bolton then discussed it further with the news reader in the studio.

Sorry, I should say single parents, not mothers.

I am afraid the Government is not making these mistakes because they are thick. They just don't have the imagination to put themselves in someone else's shoes.

It certainly makes them look incoherent in their approach to tax and benefits.

I wanted a bonfire of the UK tax code entirely. It is the biggest and most complex in the world apart from India.

It just got that little bit more complicated now for ordinary tax payers and no net extra tax revenue will be brought in.

This is now on the Sky News website.

The details are not quite as good as I worked out above. The climb down is only partial it seems.

"Mr Cameron admitted he needed to convince the public the tax and benefits system was fair and suggested a transferable tax allowance between couples could make it more balanced.

The transferable tax allowance, also known as a marriage tax break, was a key Conservative election pledge.

The party announced it would allow spouses who did not claim all their taxfree personal allowance to transfer £750 of it to their working partner.

However the measure, heavily watered down in the coalition agreement, would only apply to basic rate taxpayers, meaning those paying the higher rate of tax would still lose out."

I can see this on Sky news...

The party announced it would allow spouses who did not claim all their taxfree personal allowance to transfer £750 of it to their working partner.

However the measure, heavily watered down in the coalition agreement, would only apply to basic rate taxpayers, meaning those paying the higher rate of tax would still lose out.

This won't make much of a differnet though and certainly not to higher tax payers. Or have I missed the relevant bit?

We TOTALLY rely on Child Benifit....we are a family of 6 with 3 teenagers and a little baby and my husband earns just above the high taxable wage at 43000gbp and he also pays 700gbp per month CSA therefore as a family after rent, car, council tax, bills we actuallt do not have ANY money left over for food and groceries, so child benefit at 242gbp per month for a family of 6 is not enough ANYWAY but without it, i guess we will be bankrupted and living off the streets!!!!! EEEEEK

Right - so it doesn't actually address the problem of single-income households who pay HRT losing out at all.

I have a feeling they will eventually allow more of the tax free allowance to be transferred. This is not playing well in the media and Labour will now rigtly and ceaselessly keep pointing out that SAHP, single parents and low middle income earners are being treated unfairly. Its such a simple line of attack to undermine the whole Coalition message that public spending cuts need to be made.

trixie - what do you mean 'child benefit of 242GBP for a family of 6 is not enough'? Why on earth should you be entitled to more?

And it is not the state's problem that your husband has 2 families to support.

[ angry]

Hi Everyone. I've joined your site because of the commotion regarding proposed child benefit cuts. How much does a parent receive in CB and can anyone give an estimated cost of parenting by comparison? Presumably this will vary throughout the coutry? As a non-parent I an very surprised at the backlash and would very much like to understand what it actually means to real people rather than the usual statistics that seem to be plucked from thin air. Thanks.

Btyiew I wasn't really referring to myself in that. It was the other person who had said that to me. She is not forced to beg but she still feels bad that she has no money of her own. It is also not the state giving out handouts. I worked for 18 years before having children. I think I have put enough into the pot to get some back. My dh has also worked for a similar number of years. Now he is a hrt payer he has put even more into system.

What really grates though is the huge inequality wher a couple can bring in over 80k and still get it and a single income family either SAHP or single parent gets none when they earn 45k.

I think they are playing a propaganda war-introduce cuts which will clobber middle classes so they can then justify the massive attacks on the poorest sections of society. They will then modify the child benefits changes so they will be seen as listening to middle England and their core voters but will go ahead with the sweeping cuts on the poorest- -result!

amothersplaceisinthewrong
"But if you can afford to pay into your pension and live without that bit of salary do you need CB....."

We have 3 children, like many key-workers living outside of the area in which we work so we have high childcare (10.5k per annum) and commuting costs (£350 pm) plus the other usual bills which means very little disposable income and we live a v pared back life - we're ok with that but the loss of 2.5k tax free cb would be painful.

The pension review might sort this out anyway, making dh contribute more and bring his pay within limit or pay a bit more to offset my pension whilst I am p/t, and qualify for cb.

I haven't had time to read the news, or the thread, but if a non earners tax allowance can be transferred then the only families this CB cut is affecting are HRT single parent families. Typical!!

I'm surprised they haven't decided to cut it for all single parents, even those on £10,000.

Will have to read up in lunch time.

Jenten...Estimate the cost of parenting? Seriously? Bigger house, more fuel, more food, bigger car....child benefit doesn't cover it, but it makes it easier for some.

Jenten, philosophically, many people see child benefit as a tax reduction which recognises that during the years when you are caring for non-working dependents you might have more outgoings and therefore be less able to pay tax.

For other people, practically, it is the £1700 difference (assuming you have two children) that makes it possible to feed, clothe and house your children. Whether you struggle to survive on a salary of £44K will depend on where you live and whether you have relatives or a partner who can provide free childcare.

Jenten - there is an area on Mumsnet for media requests, I'm sure if you contact Mumsnet they can sort you out

And, if you own a home, will also depend on when you bought your first home.