To ask you to sign this petition to tax wealth rather than attacking the most vulnerable members of society?

[QuestionableMouse]

https://www.change.org/p/tax-wealth-don-t-cut-disability-support

I've signed it.

If the cuts do ahead thousands of people are going to be badly affected (me included due to long COVID which has left me chroniclly unwell)

This is completely untrue - so much poor reporting in the press just highlights people's ignorance of our tax system. The Duke's estate is subject to a periodic charge of 6% every 10 years, just like every other trust. This is already a wealth tax. On top of that he will be paying income tax at the highest rate, capital gains tax, VAT and council taxes just like everyone else.

Sounds like you have PEM (Post-Exertional Malaise) as one of your symptoms, apologies if you already know this. It's worth reading up on PEM as a symptom of CFS/ME and also POTS. Again, you might already know all this but the connection doesn't seem to be that well known.

If you do have PEM you might find that LDN (Low Dose Naltrexone) is helpful. You can get it prescribed by Dickson Pharmacy. It's been an absolute game changer for me.

I realise you didn't ask for advice so I hope I'm not over-stepping. I just hate seeing people suffering from these awful conditions so if this helps you even a little bit (or someone else) then it's worth saying.

@QuestionableMousethis is exactly the reason why disability benefits are needed. I’m sorry for the worry you must be going through at the moment. People who are physically unable to work should be supported.

I'm not signing. I think this government needs to consider other measures.
DH for example is a higher rate tax payer, he pays 20% VAT on what he charges his customers too, before paying income tax on what's left after expenses. He feels strongly he is just a tax collector for the government.

Likewise similar to your DM and DF, our neighbours, who already had two decent cars, took a new motability "fun car" when one of them became disabled - no special adaptations, she still used her original car perfectly fine, but took advantage of motability to use her DLA/PIP (or whatever) to have a little "fun" car. It's that kind of thing that's draining the money. People claiming things they don't actually need, just because they can, and no doubt, being "pushed" into it by healthcare/social care workers.

When my OH was first diagnosed with cancer and was put on the track for a stem cell transplant, he had a couple of "consultations" with support workers from the ocology department advising him on what benefits he could claim, (DLA or PIP) including a free hospital car parking permit, blue badge, etc. The thing was, he was, and remained, perfectly capable of working, walking, paying for car parks, etc., so he declined it all as he didn't need any of it and couldn't be arsed with the paperwork, getting doctors to sign off forms, etc - he had enough trouble getting the doctors to actually arrange tests/treatments etc and really didn't want extra stress just for extra money that he didn't need. He said at the time, he'd defer claiming until such time that he had to stop working, and 7 years later, still on monthly chemotherapy, he is still working, so still doesn't claim anything.

And employers NIC, employers workplace pensions, etc for all the staff employed by his estate.

Indeed; and that's before all the economic activity driven by the development, refurbishment and leasing/renting of properties on the estate, and the economc activity from shoppers, vistors and tourists that visit London because of the hotels, restaurants, cafes and shops that occupy them. Would the area be more ort less cohesive if every single property was owned by a different entity? Would it be in worse or better condition if it was all owned by the council?

We need people / businesses that can and do take a very long term view to protect the fabric, look and feel of our towns and cities to prevent them all drfting into neglect. To encourage a long term view people and businesses need certainty. Trusts, as has repeatedly been stated on this thread, are taxed. But they are taxed little and often, rather than in huge chunks at the whim of whoever is in power. That allows long term planning. It almost certainly means paying more tax over time as well. The fact that, as a result, directly and indirectly they generate huge revenue streams for HMRC through VAT, capital gains tax, corporation tax, income tax, national insurance, duty, business rates and tax on dividends is an essential part of a functioning and successful economy.

Thank you.

I'm absolutely terrified to be honest. I have no idea how I'll manage if there's cuts - I've already cut everything I can out of my budget.

So how is the country going to function when everyone is claiming then?

Maybe if the NHS worked better people wouldn't be so badly affected.

And it's not "everyone" who's claiming, is it? It's a percentage of the population.

Healthy, able bodied people are a car crash or accident or severe illness or a cancer diagnosis away from being disabled.

I worked 40+ hours a week until I physically couldn't because of COVID - which I caught at work.

I'm not signing. As others have already pointed out the top 10% of earners already pay 60% of all income tax. Are you a communist? If not you're definitely being unreasonable.

Yes. Yes I'm a raging hardcore commi.

The wealthy are already taxed heavily. And I say this as someone on a low income with a disability. So I don’t actually think this is the answer.

You claim that you can't work because of migraines, but you have been posting on here for several days. Your typing and English is excellent so there doesn't appear to be any good reason why you couldn't use your skills to get a more flexible online job.

I gave up full-time work many years ago due to my disabilities. I now work self-employed part-time from home. I don't work everyday, just when I feel well enough, but that is sufficient to keep some money coming in so I don't have to claim benefits. You need to re-consider your skills and work towards becoming independent. In 2025 there is no reason for anyone who has the ability to be online several days a week to not be able to earn money. I don't know what job you did before, but many skills are transferable.

@FalseSpring

Your point is a perfect example of someone completely lacking empathy, “I’m disabled and I can work so therefore every disabled person can work”.

Have you tried to get a job lately? Even people with a wealth of experience and no barriers are struggling to find work (especially from home now WFH employers want people back in the office for a day or two a week). Employers don’t want someone with ‘transferable skills’, they want someone who is experienced in that role. They’re not going to say “Oh I see you worked in a shop before you were paralysed so you must be good with people. Don’t worry that you don’t know one end of a spreadsheet from another, you’ve used a till and they’re both computers. Oh and don’t worry if you need every other month of. We understand that you can only work for an hour a day before your medication affects your concentration and makes you woozy. Don’t worry about making mistakes.”

Do you seriously believe that just because a poster has made a few (shortish) comments over two days that it’s an accurate indication of her condition all the time? If you work from home with a disability then you’re obviously less severely disabled than many other disabled people. Granted you’re very possibly more disabled than some other disabled people but we’re not ALL identical.

I've been online for the grand total of maybe 60 minutes in the last days. I also spent last night in a dark and silent room vomiting into a bucket while feeling like my head was being crushed.

Again, until I become ill during Covid I was working 40+ hours a week. I have two English degrees (First and Distinction).

What I don't have currently is a body that works properly.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/721547

Can I ask people to sign this one please?

Why not protect disabled people fullstop?

Or are some of us (with serious, incurable disabling conditions) supposed to keep working to protect disabled people who don't work? Even if they are 'disabled' with something like anxiety? Or 'a bad back'? Even if they are objectively less ill than those of us in work? Nothing about this is simple.

What have you cut already, sounds like not so much if you only have £20 left and chose a £3 loaf of bread. You have only not worked for 5 years and keep underlining your multiple jobs and 40 plus hours per week prior to COVID 5 years ago, where are the savings from working, surely you had some from all of that working.

Eh?

I had two jobs. I had to stop the main one two years ago because I physically couldn't do it any more. I had a part time job until last September when I was let go because for reasons out of my control.

I'm not "choosing" to pay £3 a loaf. I cannot eat gluten and that's the average price for a gluten free loaf.

I've used my savings- mostly on moving when the landlord of the house I had decided he was selling and I had to leave.

What have I cut?

I sold my car because I could no longer afford it and it failed it's MOT. I don't buy clothes, or have any streaming services, or have any holidays or days out. Basically everything fun from my life because I need money for essential things.

But continue criticizing me by all means!

Sorry, I know far too many people abusing the system to support your request.

No you fucking don't.

PIP fraud is at 0%.

Thank you. Signed.

Isn’t this due to how it’s recorded and reported though, not actually because the fraud rate is low?

That's my thought too. Don't they mean 'fraud conviction rate' is 0%?
That's like saying well if a criminals not convicted of the crime then they didn't do it?