Lib Dem proposed Tax Credit Cuts - anyone know any figures?

[MamaMtundu]

I've been looking through the lib dem manifesto and it just refers to
"restricting tax credits" and "reforming tax credits. Which is a bit woolly. I want some figures! Anyone know if there is any more detail on this?

What income brackets will they cut Child tax credit for and by roughly how much?

What will be the threshold for getting nothing at all?

Are they going to cut Working tax credit too?

Dunno but at went to a hustings last night and nearly changed my vote to Lib Dem when the prpospective candidate said anyone earning less than £100k would pay no tax .

Got the biggest round of applause and he quickly realsied his mistake .

Surely there will be no figures until they actually do the budget - then it could all change - as for any of the parties really.

The Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) - an independent thinktank - has a series of briefing notes on the parties proposals. I think their briefing note no 13 contains the details you're looking for.

www.ifs.org.uk/publications/4853

They give an interesting commentary on all the parties proposals. None of the parties come out particularly well.

I earn less than 10K a year in total.
I was looking at my payslip this morning to work out just how much not paying tax on the first 10K would save me. The answer is not a lot at all really. Certainly not enough to even cover my childcare costs in the school holidays.

It's simply about juggling figures and they'd no doubt take it off WTC & CTC instead I would imagine.

Not paying tax on the first 10K sounds good, of course we all want to pay less tax! But in reality will it make any of us any better off when they juggle everything else around? Just seems like an excuse for messing with Tax Credits and then they can turn round and say 'We said so in our manifesto'

at no tax on anything under 100K SDD

Thanks Roastchicken, just off to have a look.

I felt sure they had plans to means test some of the benefits which are "automatic" and therefore go to the highest paid (when they don't really need them, as they have more than adequate salary to cover costs).

On the no income tax under 10K, gillybean, I thought it was said to have an effect of something like 500 quid more per person, so only a tenner a week. However, even making a suggestion like that gets the thumbs down from some (where Labour removed the 10% band and affected a lot of people, then rather than say they got it wrong and just reinstate it, went on to add a couple of other 'allowances' to get 80% of the affected people back to where they would have been without the removal of the tax band.

It was clumsy and screwed money from the other 20% of low paid people, who would be forced to pay more than before (and not make a dent on the massive debts brought about by loans to the banks etc).

Tonight NC said 'the top 20%' of recipients of child tax credits would be shaved off...I presume he means the top-earning 20% - but this is a little vague: once they've shaved off that proportion for 2010 would they then shave off the top 20% for 2011 (i.e. 2010's 60-80% earners, if that makes sense)?

I'm assuming that's not what it means.

Also worth looking at link to IFS that roastchicken gave. Credit tax mentioned bit further on than note 13 I think and said that they would be cutting the family element. (After watching last night I guess they'll cut family element for top 20%?)

Anyhow, been looking at our tax credit forms and the family element is £545 and I think this is the same for lots of people? This would be more than cancelled out by cut in tax on first 10K which is about £700. Then for some families like ours the bulk of our payment seems to fall under the child element and the working tax element, so that would be left alone?? would it really?? what do you reckon? anyone else think this is what they mean?

ho hum. obvioulsy this is only one issue I'm trying to work out. keep swinging wildly from lib to lab and back again daily . thought GB did better than NC last night