im so anxious about threats to cut ctc...

[em83]

god i feel so depressed about the threatened cut to ctc, i have been following the news religiously about this new emergency budget, and have just read an updat which was posted tonigha 22.10 which states that incomes £30.000 or over will not be entitled to ctc

im so pissed off with this and feel so anxious

Right I am kind of getting it now (I have newborn brain fog)

We only get the very basic family element the £500 odd pounds £10 a week part.

This is the part that will be taken away with the other 2 elements remaining?

That's what I mean allshopped.

If they reduce them quite a bit, then I would have to go and work to make up the shortfall, couldn't manage otherwise, but the childcare costs would be huge AND more importantly (because eventually childcare costs would reduce as they go to school) there would be one more jobseeker (me!) looking for work at a time when there is no work!

allshoppedout, because it isn't the governments responsibilty to pay you to be a sahm.

I would imagine that tc will be reduced if not cut at around 35k mark.

Just looked at the calculator for this benefit & am shocked how much people can get. Makes me think why do people bother to go to work.

Just looked at the calculator for this benefit & am shocked how much people can get. Makes me think why do people bother to go to work.

i see sweet kitty

so the 3 elements are

child benefits which is the lower amount a mnth think i get £40

child tax credits which is the big amount over £100

working tax credits - we dont get

our joint income is about £32000 dh works full, me part but we also get carers allowance for ds1 as he has cp, because of this we get a disabled element as part of ctc, will this stop as well?
at the begining of this thread someone actually said they go off your NET income.... fingers crossed !

There is a good table on here which shows how much roughly you can get and how it goes up per child/income.
here

WTC is paid for a joint income of under £15000-£16000 i think
CTC can be paid for incomes of up to £65000 {depends on age of child }
this includes

• basic family element
• 30 hour working element
• childcare elements

-disabled elements feel free to correct me if im wrong

em83, do you mean income after tax? I am pretty certain that this isn't true. I gave the figures from p60 and they specifically said before tax.

Geek, I am not bothered about going to work, if I have to then so be it, BUT there aren't enough jobs to go round!! The unemployment figures don't include SAHM/D and people on IS iirc(?) I think it's around 3m without them!

We built our life/family around our circumstances at the time. Never expected all this to happen with banks/economy. We don't have holidays, period and we hardly ever buy clothes.
I expected to be able to go back to work in about 3 years when DS2 went to nusery. In the time between then and now I was going to re-train.
Now, however, it will be difficult to not work as TC will reduce, BUT it will be difficult TO work as there are no jobs and we will not qualify for TCs if I earn.

Lose/lose.

I'm [shocked] at the large amounts that can be claimed in tax credits. Nearly a grand a month? There's something seriously wrong with the whole system if the state is having to support families to that extent. No wonder the economy is in such a mess.

geek please look at the 3rd message on this post as im not certain what is defined as net income

I quickly put in our details

at 20K we would get £7200 a year
at 30K £4100
at 40K just over £1000

but I take it they take off the child tax credits to just leave the family element

I have always thought why don't they abolish Tax Credits completely and just have a means tested Child Benefit instead on a sliding scale? So poorer families get a lot more CB than more well off ones so that by the time you get to 100 or 150K you don't get any benefits?

And make the system more fair in that parents are actually better off working than claiming benefits?

It will affect equally SAHM and working mums, I know at least 3 people worried they will have to quit their jobs as they rely on the tax credits/childcare element. 25K is not loads. These people are on too high a wage to be 'well off' but not low enough to get free school meals, rent paid etc so why shouldn't they get some help?

I read a report that said the Lib Dems were cutting from 24K but adding an allowance per additional child of 6K so that they would cut with 2 kids from 31.6K. Other reports said it was ONLY the family element that would be cut but the way Clegg is talking sounds like he wants to take average earners out of the Tc system altogether.

The thing is with all the tax rises, the people in the middle (25-37K)will be screwed if they loose alot of tax credits and face tax hikes on top.

Gradual loss is the only fair way with maybe 20% cut a year for 5 years. That allows people to plan to get used to the loss/get a job/plan for childcare etc. Sudden loss will affect those at 25K with large families that they would be better off not working..

it's all speculation until next Tuesday.

personally, i think they're going to use this 'we raised the personal tax threshold to £10K' to justify all kinds of ways to fuck over everyone, most especially the working poor.

'oh, we gave you this, so here's your VAT and NI hike, and less tax credits, etc. come and tell us how grateful you are. c'mon, doff those caps!'

It would be very short sighted to look at working vs benefits as a right now thing. If you are working you will in most jobs be getting payrises/promotions so over the years your salary would go up and you won't need additional support. Tax credits will stay at the same/similar level, I suspect over the next couple of years it won't raise in line with inflation so will be a net loss to most families.

As SGB said, the real problem here is the minimum wage, it's simply not enough to live on in much of the country - specifically in areas where there is a high population and a good job market.

We should be targeting our frustration at the system at the companies who get away with paying absolutely fuck all so that the state HAVE to step in and subsidise salaries with tax credits.

As a self employed single mother of two teenagers, one still in school, one in college, there is no way I could survive without WTC/CTC. It's hard enough as is it, and since the credit crunch my business has really suffered. In January this year I earned absolutely nothing, March only about £90, and the other months have barely scraped in a living.

It's been absolute hell this year, have had to cycle everywhere because I can't afford to put petrol in my car, buying only the basics, getting behind with bills and being sick with worry most of the time. My WTC is the only regular money I get. I know which day of the month it's coming, so can at least budget around that. People don't realise that when you're self employed you never know when you are going to get paid. You have to complete a job first, issue an invoice and then wait until the payment arrives, and as I work a lot for local government and the public sector - they certainly take their time paying let me tell you.

I've thought many times about just chucking it all in and going on benefits like millions of others, but my pride won't let me. I have been self employed since my kids were born - it allowed me to stay home with them and continue earning a living as there was no available childcare where I lived. This past year has been the worst I have every known. Getting back into paid employment is all but impossible (I've tried). People don't want to know when you've worked for yourself as long as I have, plus I am not exactly a youngster.

Please, please don't cut WTC. It's a lifeline for many of us who are one step away from the benefits queue.

Is the personal tax threshold not staggered though expat so it's going to be gradual over 5 years? bet the cuts aren't staggered.

VAT as high as 20% and didn't DC say Gordon's NI hike would be a jobs tax, that's all he seemed to go on about in those debates Labours Jobs Tax, surely he cannot now turn round and raise NI, or can he? afterall everything is Labour's fault anyway

I keep hearing the worst hit will be ?Families with children where both parents go out to work, but earn a modest income.?

what wannabe and ronshar said is spot on. Resources are limited, we all need to take personal responsibility.

I wish I could say thatI would be getting a promotion/payrise over the next couple of years.

I work for the local government and by the looks of it will have a pay freeze for the next couple of years at least and a promotion is a no go in my line of work, unless I pay for myself to go to university to qualify for a social work qualification which cannot afford either now or when they reduce the Tax Credits.

Ewe, i agree with your post but many will have to look at the 'right now' just to keep a roof and food.

That may mean benefits as opposed to work for many.

Dh's firm hasnt had a payrise this year or last year and massive cutbacks are being made all the time. Promotions and payrises are extremely unlikely in the forseeable future.

I am fortunate that my job is fairly secure (NHS) but the pay isn't fabulous by any means.

Can I pick up on all those that are saying they might quit their job if these cuts come in?

I don't see how quitting work right now is wise in the longer term. My financial advisor friend is absolutely convinced that mortgage rates will rise, along with the general cost of living and there is talk of benefit cuts across the board so less of a safety net if you do start to lose the struggle financially.

At least if you have a job there may still be an option to gain experience and get something better paid in the future or increase your hours once your children are older and hopefully the economy has improved.

Sorry ewe, but in DHs job in particular, he doesn't get payrises and there are no promtions at all. In fact he has had a 5% pay cut last year already and is very lucky to have his job stillas they laid 50% of workforce off.