£20 a week tax break for married couples

[southeastastra]

so say the tories fgs

Well, actually Lucyellensmum, the point of breaking up is the one point that makes it worthwhile to be married atm.

So if this does come in ( flying pigs not withstanding a tory victory at the next election))single parents should have the same tax allowance as a married person, who has added their partners transfered tax allowance, because we go to work and do all the parenting when we get home.

"marriage is a legal contract between a man and a woman that confers legal rights and responsibilities. Governments pass legislation that changes those rights and responsibilties. It's a package deal that people are free to enter into or not."

Can you change a contract after you have entered into it then?

Anna, you were kind to me on my other thread, thankyou, we dont always see eye to eye but i do respect your opinions, im saying this because im about to disagree with you again

I dont think a £20 a week incentive is going to make people stay married if their marriage has gone sour.(i would hope not) I do think it is discriminatory actually. I am a catholic and would secretly love to get marrried if truth be told, My DP however is atheist and sees marriage as a waste of time, from a religious stand point i actually think it would be morally wrong of us to get married (i have tried putting this argument to my local priest, he doesnt get it either!). So, because we chose to not marry, we are not entitled to further help - it makes no sense at all, and to be honest, what use is £20 a week in a sensible world?

You cannot legislate moral fibre into a country. And with this one, um, dead, horse, flogging, arranged into a well known sentence.

The average cost of a wedding doesn't matter here Shelly. If you want to get married for the tax breaks then it costs next to nothing to go to your local registry office in your normal clothes with a couple of friends as witnesses. You don't need to have a big party, a flouncy dress, a forest of flowers and a honeymoon to get married.

lucyellen - no, no one has the right to tell you to get married. But if you don't, you won't have the right to claim this tax break. Your choice, so what is the problem?

I don't think that IDS is 'laying the countries woes at the feet of working mothers'. So many times I've read on here that people would like to stay at home with their children, but can't because they can't afford to, so the Tories are offering (or may offer if the policy is adopted) these people a break which may help them to make the choice that has currently been removed from them. They aren't saying that mothers should all stay at home - they are saying that mothers who want to stay at home should be able to do so. I can't see that if you were a Tory before that this choice would change your vote, so I am rather doubting that you were a Tory in the first place!

meandmy - in the case of marriage, yes, the contract changes over time as new legislation is passed. That's the risk you take when you marry.

For example, inheritance law has just changed in France in a way that impacts married couples significantly.

Shelly2kids - getting married doesn't have to be expensive. You can get married in the local register office for less than £100. It's the material guff that costs (flowers, cakes, cars, honeymoon, dresses etc), the actual 'getting married' bit is cheap as chips.

lucyellen - previous comment certainly wasn't meant as an underhanded swipe at unmarried women, so I'm sorry that you took it that way.

lucy - in France there are three sorts of marriage contract, a civil partnership contract - and of course, you can live together as a couple with no contract. So you have 5 basic possible legal situations for couples.

In the UK you don't have as much choice.

I think it's right that you have options as to your legal status as a couple. Obviously the different packages have different advantages and disadvantages.

In your post you say you wish to be married and your partner doesn't. You need to resolve that issue with your partner, not just get cross that new government policy would make marriage even more attractive to you - and hence not being so even less desirable than at present.

I say that with your very best interests at heart, lucy

Can't sleep won't sleep. I would'nt get married specifically for a poxy £20 a week.

And when I do get married I will have the big party and gorgeous dress. That is my choice. But it doesn't give David Cameron the right to decide what people should do.

Unmarried couples who have been together for long term should be able to get the same benefits as married couples.

So what is this big tax break I am getting for working?

i just don't get this idea that choosing not to marry should carry exactly the same rights/status as marriage. why? you can simply choose to get married if you want the breaks... it's part of the choice you as a couple make, weighing up the pros and cons.

But how long is "a long time"?

And could you opt out if you didn't want that?

Is anyone else irate and spitting at the fact some Eton-educated Tory toff is telling us proles we can't bring our kids up properly? And thinks a £20 handout will turn us all into Laura-Ashley-wearing SAHMs with well scrubbed kids all nice & dressed in Boden? Arseholes, the lots of them.
(Tories, not the SAHMs or the kids).

Bossykate - exactly. I think it's good that marriage is a very different state to living together. In fact, I think that it's a good thing where there is a choice of marriage contracts to take account of different circumstances.

the state can't peer into the minds of certain unmarried couples and know that they have the same intent of long term commitment that has been made publicly by married couples.

Yes bossykate that is what IDS is hoping, being a Catholic convert and Conservative he thinks our taxes should be used to encourage people to get married.
I would rather he spent them on something useful. People can decide for themselves whether to get married.

oh that's right take a swipe at catholics - always open season here on mnet.

I still don't quite get this. am i meant to shack up with some random bloke to get an extra £20 a week? or beg my ex partner to come back?

when my ex left i made a very concious decision to not introduce any other men in to their lives. i went out with my current beau for 18 months before introducing him to my children and i have absolutely NO intention of ever living with someone again ever. I don't expect the government to reward my life choices, but i certainly don't expect to be penalised either.

Why do people think single parents have so many advantages? I get a tax credit partly made up of an allowance for being a single parent, but thats the same allowance as if i were a couple. theres less food to buy but thats the only difference i can think of - the gas, electricity, mortgage etc is just the same..

not swiping at Catholics, just a fact that the Catholic church is rather keen on marriage as good state for couples to be in, and this is where IDS is placed.
I may well be Catholic myself.

Does anyone have an opinion on the idea of front loading the child benefit, or do you all like that one so are keeping quiet?

The tax breaks he says is just an inccentive to get married, as he feels children are happier and are unlikely to be troubled when they grow up.

For example join gangs etc. But I don't think being married makes any difference at all. As long as a child has a good happy upbringing wether being married in a stable relationship or by a loving single parent.

Its the way the child is brought up what counts and learns right from wrong.

what is frontloading cantsleep?

i think a lot of people are reading things into this that simply aren't there. the proposal hitting the headlines (as i understand, it would be to get it wrong) simply allows for the trasfer of the tax allowance from one spouse to another if one party isn't working. it's currently merely a proposal and isn't yet conservative policy. i don't think it has anything to do with making people go out to work .

as far as it goes, i don't think this proposal would be enough to incentivise marriage.

i'm not sure whether incentivising marriage is a good or bad thing. will have to ponder more and listen/read the arguments for both sides.

Ah. I am married but I confess I don't tend to wear a cardigan while fornicating. Does that make me a Good Person deserving of tax breaks or a Bad Person who will be shunned by the Tories?

Love the idea that somehow people discussing this idea are singling out the one bad Tory proposal. Um, the Tories have put this out for debate, why the hell shouldn't we talk about it? There's no law that says we have to mug up on all Tory policies in order to have a view on this one.