Benefit Fraud

[SteveCampbell]

Hi. I know this may be a touchy subject, but I've been thinking about this for a while and would like to know other people's opinions on this. As a morality issue how do you feel about reporting people for benefit fraud? I do have a specific scenario in mind, but I'd like to know, without any nuance, how you feel about reporting it in general.

Theft is theft. We've all got to live with our conscience

I agree about tax evasion by large cos but 2 wrongs don't make a right

I've reported companies to hmrc for tax evasion they took action surprisingly but they are still going just changed MD to the business partner a nifty name change 😉 a payment plan and business as usual so its not much of a deterrent really

most people have a moral compass, a single parent stealing from one of the major 4 supermarkets to feed their children doesn’t anger me
What if she steals £100 worth every month? What if What she steals s alcohol? What if she steals food every week but also took a loan for a £700 mobile phone?

Where does your moral compass ends? Why is it that your moral compass is to be valued and respected but not someone else's?

@vivainsomnia

most people have a moral compass, a single parent stealing from one of the major 4 supermarkets to feed their children doesn’t anger me What if she steals £100 worth every month? What if What she steals s alcohol? What if she steals food every week but also took a loan for a £700 mobile phone?

Where does your moral compass ends? Why is it that your moral compass is to be valued and respected but not someone else's?

Because it’s very rare that you know everything about someone, but I don’t think people with good upbringings, good jobs, happy lives commit petty theft- so considering life isn’t a level playing field I mind my business. Btw- very daily mail of you, £700 phone and on benefits- let me guess, migrants too?!

@Nightlystroll

"Money doesn't just appear. It's finite. If someone's taking what they shouldn't have, they're depriving someone who should have. "

Money is not finite*, it is l capped only at the level that the government decides. The government also decides the allocation of that money, and the reinbursement of it.

Austerity is when the government decides that it will print less money than it has before, which was what happened during the Cameron years, so the total amount of sterling available reduced.

Governments may decide to allocate more money to supporting people with living expenses, or less money to this. Over the last few years, creating deliberately intimidating conditions and aggressive targetting of people who are entitled to benefit, they have reduced the proportion that has gone to benefits.

They also decide how the interest on the money that they print will be repaid, either by high earners, or by low earners, through a combination of student loans, strealth taxes and juggling the tax boundaries the current regime has ensured that low earners pay a far higher amount of this interest than higher earners.

*unless you live in El Salvador

[quote Cailleachian]@Nightlystroll

"Money doesn't just appear. It's finite. If someone's taking what they shouldn't have, they're depriving someone who should have. "

Money is not finite*, it is l capped only at the level that the government decides. The government also decides the allocation of that money, and the reinbursement of it.

Austerity is when the government decides that it will print less money than it has before, which was what happened during the Cameron years, so the total amount of sterling available reduced.

Governments may decide to allocate more money to supporting people with living expenses, or less money to this. Over the last few years, creating deliberately intimidating conditions and aggressive targetting of people who are entitled to benefit, they have reduced the proportion that has gone to benefits.

They also decide how the interest on the money that they print will be repaid, either by high earners, or by low earners, through a combination of student loans, strealth taxes and juggling the tax boundaries the current regime has ensured that low earners pay a far higher amount of this interest than higher earners.

*unless you live in El Salvador[/quote]
Yes, but few countries live in a vacuum. When a govt "creates" money, that dilutes the existing money, affects exchange rates with other countries, risks inflation (which also reduces "value" of money), etc.

Because it’s very rare that you know everything about someone, but I don’t think people with good upbringings, good jobs, happy lives commit petty theft- so considering life isn’t a level playing field I mind my business.
Btw- very daily mail of you, £700 phone and on benefits- let me guess, migrants too?!
You don't have to know everything, that's why there's an investigation, if indeed there is one.

You unsurprisingly jumped on the wagon with your assumption. The £700 phone is not to say that all people on benefits have it, it's citing an example of what people who scam the system providing themselves with a good income spend their money on. You can cite anything that is a luxury.

As to what is has to do with immigration, I don't know. If you are interested though, I'm very supportive of welcoming and integrating immigrants.

I support anyone who do what they can to better their lives and do so honestly.

who does!

Of course no-one knows the full circumstances. That's why HMRC and benefits offices do proper investigations to establish the facts before any action is taken. They certainly don't just believe any random person who tells them Jim down the road is a tax/benefit fraudster.

Are there penalties for people who wrongly report benefit fraud? Even the Gestapo punished baseless denunciations.

@GameofPhones

Are there penalties for people who wrongly report benefit fraud? Even the Gestapo punished baseless denunciations.

Why would there be? There aren't routine penalties for people phoning 999 when there was no emergency, only potential criminal prosecution for persistent offenders when it comes to hoax or otherwise unnecessary calls. It's up to the receiver of the calls to make the decision as to whether to take it further.

Nope.
I keep out of such things and mind my own.

@MaryAndHerNet

The rest of your tax goes to MPs wages, expenses, second homes, cabinet salaries etc etc etc.

Absolute bollocks. Just do the Math. Only 600 or so MPs. The amount you pay out of your taxes (based on circa 30 MILLION workers) is just a few pennies.