HM Government Petition Child Benefit changes - to assess whole family income

[pofacedalways]

This is a petition about assessing the whole family income, not about whether families with 50k income should get child benefit or not. It is intrinsically unfair and absurd to take away benefit from some families and not others on the same income. Please sign if you agree.

Petition

Lily, they are not authorised to give info about your income to your partner. I know someone who phoned HMRC and asked if their wife claimed CB. They were told that their partner was entitled to claim CB, not that they claimed it. My dh knows that I am entitled to claim CB, as is everyone with children. If I phoned them and asked them what my DH earns, they can only tell me that he earns enough to be affected by the changes. The point is that they cannot tell either partner specific information about the other. It is against the law.

Child Benefit Income information

You can find out two things (cut and pasted from the enquiry form)

1. To find out if your partner/ex-partner is/was entitled to receive Child Benefit during a specific tax year, please enter that year below.
2. To find out if your adjusted net income is/was higher than your partner's/ex-partner's for a specific tax year, please enter that tax year below.

"If HMRC then discover that I did claim CB, who will they prosecute?"

Him... The onus is on the taxpayer to ensure they are paying the right amount of tax. Doesn't matter whether he received a letter or not, everyone has to take personal responsibility for paying what's due or accept the consequences.

The point is that they cannot tell one partner that the other partner received CB, only that they were entitled to receive it.

But they can also give information about the level of income a partner is earning.

This is a complete dogs dinner and I guarantee that it will not run smoothly and that HMRC will not cope. I am also quite certain that it will lose the conservatives the next election and that it will be a repeat of the poll tax debacle, i.e. many people being let off because it was impossible to chase them up and then for the policy to be ditched. We shall see.

ihategeorgeosborne (did you know you were namechecked in the national press this week btw?) - I only hope so. The really depressing thing is that most people think 'it is unfair, but I am in favour of it' - because it doesn't affect them.

Just like most people are 'in favour' of the cap on benefits - as long as it doesn't affect them.

Divide and Rule Politics is alive and well.

Thanks Lily! Yes, I did notice the article in the telegraph. I couldn't believe it. I shouted to my DH that I had got a mention in the DT! Anyway, you are right. They are only doing this as it affects few people and they think it will keep most on side. They've definitely lost two votes from this household for ever. Yes, I'm ashamed to say that I have voted conservative previously. They have confirmed to me in this administration however, that they are nasty, cruel people who have no idea about how others' live, let alone the meaning of the word they like to champion endlessly "fairness" !!!

Yes, it is disgusting. When I had a job where I stayed away from home, I was entitled to a £10 evening meal allowance. Breakfast was toast and cereal as you suggest. Oh but wait........they're MPs, they deserve it. That's why they think they're entitled to a 33% pay rise to 85k. They have the audacity to accuse us of being fiscal nimbys. The bloody cheek!

Hallo
We have moved this thread to our petitions topic
Thanks

I think the child benefit cap is stupid as it discourages people from working extra hard. DH could earn more if he chose to go into London and take a job with more responsiblity. We are under the threshold and dh doesn't feel moviated to work extra hard as he would more than half of the extra income.

The whole thing is a shambles and will cost more to implement than it will save. I think there would be a lot of sense in scrapping child benefit and increasing child tax credits.

The whole thing is a smokescreen for the really cruel cuts to the disabled.

I think it is great shame that some people resent a family on 50k [who pay 40% tax who often have had to pay a mortgage or rent of 1000 pounds a month to stay near their work] their child allowance. When the very highest earners are evading so much tax, middle income families are targeted. As I said it is the unfairness of targeting families on the same income ased on who works which is the issue. Anyway, hopefully some might sign the petition. Thanks.