June 08 - if your name's not down you're not coming in!

[EddieIzzardismyhero]

Welcome to our new cliquey thread !

Heat definitely a factor and the daytime naps getting erratic as twins sound like e is at minute neenz- earlier tea sounds a good idea.

Did you order the multimac in end neenz?

Ah thanks for words re your boys- I know sister and I used to do a fairly good ultimate fighting contest on each other but not on other kids.

Re budget have to think about it more at work tomorrow but am quite pleased about corporation tax simplification as that is much needed. The a
amount of bad and unnecessary law over last ten years is a joke.

I got a bit lost on ctc and am amazed that cb has remained for all albeit it's frozen.

Also vat comment made me laugh as George said wouldn't change the ratings on food etc like it was some big favour- you can't you plum as that is all set from the eu.

Ooh Greece just scored...

Sorry Argentina - got blinded by the 70s beard of maradona

I think Fraser's outgrowing his nap - has anyone's dropped their nap yet? Fraser will go down but he wakes up very grumpy and then gets up early-ish (5:45, not like Amber and Spider deal with). The day he skipped his nap he slept until 7am (heaven - although DS1 got up at 6:30 and came into bed with me to tell stories).

libra hope your recovery goes smooth - it's not like you get to just relax ever with little kids....

poppy we'll benefit from the reduction in corporation tax so we're feeling lucky. I searched the main document but there's no details about IR35 yet... that has huge implications for us!

I've just finished 5 days of work/training at the job I like and they're hinting that they might be interested in a more regular arrangement. I need to not get too excited though as I've a habit of being very down if I start looking forward to something. Plus I'm not sure if the salary would be okay (i.e. cover the nanny + pension - I'd need to make more than my old government job to make it worthwhile).

Thanks all. Am working in the kitchen still, but the music has subsided and I have classic fm on really loud to drown them out. Thankfully I'm at the easy part so it doesn't require the same level of concentration. I've also managed to fire off an email to my local MP for help with some of the neighbour issues that are fixable with a quiet off the record chat

Libra I used to be BitOfaDramaQueen. I always lose track of who's who on fb. Can you remind me of your initials or give a clue as to what your RL name is so I can see if we're fb friends? I think we might be as I'm sure I saw something about someone having an operation recently and I was trying to work out who it was. Nice to see you back on here anyway and hope your recovery goes well.

On the budget (and there I was trying to be ) I'm quite unhappy about the VAT as I believe it hits the poorest harder. I don't have a link but I read this statistic today: 'ONS stats show richest 10% pay £1 in every £25 of their income in VAT; the poorest 10% pay £1 in every £7 as VAT'. I do have strong and ranty views about it generally, but you all know I'm Labour through and through so it's hardly a surprise and I'll try and stay out of any ensuing debate on MN. I am surprised child benefit is relatively unscathed, I'd betray my comrades and support means testing it in all honestly. Oh and Eddie I'd cut the Queen's wages too .

Ooh, it's all gone quiet next door, yay!

Had lots else to say, but I've forgotten and must go back to assignment.

Interested to hear more about air conditioning units Poppy (I might not be able to afford one when VAT goes up )

Forgot to say hi Libra - what op did you have if you don't mind me asking?

The multimac does rear and forward facing seats - you can fit two RF infant carriers in it (four in the widest Multimac but thankfully you don't need that many!) and they clip in and out much like the MaxiCosi Cabriofix. I haven't ordered it yet but am going to - must get that sorted cos there is a waiting list.

Depressed about the budget - 25% cut in public services . I don't think low-paid public sector workers should pay for a financial meltdown caused by the banks. No Robin Hood tax on the banks unfortunately but there will be a bank levy that raises £2bn (wowser). Would have liked to have seen more on tackling tax evasion but, no, they're going after the disabled instead . From the Public and Commercial Services Union: "Around £120 billion in revenue is lost every year through tax evasion and avoidance, and because Revenue and Customs doesn't have enough staff to collect it." Glad to hear the rich will pay more (but that is pretty obvious) and that the tax threshold will be lowered so some people will even be better off (apart from the public services they will not be able to access ). I think CB will always be paid to all cos it is more expensive to means-test than to just give it to everyone. Time will tell as to whether the budget works, how many people will lose their jobs and whether it will cause a double-dip recession. Nick Robinson calls it a 'massive gamble'. I would have preferred they paid the debt off over a longer period so the cuts wouldn't have needed to be so drastic (and of course for the rich to pay much much more ) but we'll see.

J showing no signs of dropping nap. If he doesn't have a proper afternoon nap he is too tired to eat his tea.

Oh, no signs of dropping nap here. Although, he can go till much later in the afternoon if we're out and about and he's being generally entertained.

With all my moaning forgot to share in my excitement of S being able to jump properly with both feet off the ground at the same time today.

Interesting stats on VAT, DG. Capital gains tax has gone up which is pleasing but only to 28% for top-rate taxpayers. I would really like something done about the mega-rich bosses who get paid in shares so they only pay CGT not income tax.

DGT for the working poor I'm not so convince about VAT. I estimate that at a maximum we'll personally pay an extra £20 a month in VAT. But more realistically, on £500 a month of VAT eligible expenses that's £12.50. But if you're working, with the increase in personal allowance that's £170/year or £14 a month. So doesn't it balance? And if you're a two income family, it's a net benefit.

Yes, VAT in itself is a tax that's more like a poll tax I guess, my calculations are good for me (I don't tend to spend more than I have to) but also apply to lower income families (can't get a lower income than mine though).

I thought the issue would be the changes to housing benefit...

But you can save your money - no need for air con around here - just get a large window fan. It really doesn't get hot enough. A good fan makes a world of difference (grew up with regular 30degree summer days + humidity...)

neenz I'm confused about the 25% cut as I saw somewhere that Labour had proposed a 20% cut (these values are by 2014 so not as bad as it first sounds). It's scary to think about though - it's not like services are very good...

And the tax system is a nightmare - when we ask our accountant for hard and fast rules he has to say there aren't any. We'd love clarity so we could know exactly where we stand(friends have been investigated by HMRC but came out okay, it was horribly stressful though and they were not trying to do anything illegal, just all the rules are 'open to interpretation'). Bonkers.

But then the Times (which seems to be giving thumbs up to the budget) says that welfare spending is 28% of government spending. I'm a bit shocked - surely it can't be that high? And if it is, aren't we screwed? We can't cut benefits that much and yet we can't afford to pay for everything....

good job to S, DGT - Fraser's not got the hang of that yet. He tries but one foot is still behind the other...

Not sure about 28% Abdn, or whether that is high in comparison to other countries. 90% of welfare payments come back to the govt in tax anyway I've read...? Don't know about Labour cutting public services by 20%. The Lib Dems said during election that they could save £6bn a year through tackling tax evasion - they seem to have forgotten that now!

The problem with these cuts is they will apparently save £40bn but if growth is affected the savings will be less because the govt's income from taxes will be less.

DG congratulations on the jumping!
Now I'm particularly interested in this. Who can and can't jump here? (Children, not adults. )
I know Luke could ages ago , and a friend of mine has a daughter born on the same day as Iestyn and she could jump on 1st May. (When we saw them! That looks odd!) Iestyn really really wants to jump, but can't. He says 'jumping, jumping' but can't get both feet off! He's dead keen to get all adults to jump in turn too.
It's just one of those little developmental things which are of no consequence, but interesting. Like undoing screws.

Sorry had to go there.
Poppy I was just thinking today that I should have taken a photo of my old office for a before-and-after shot. My old one had a superb view, but really worrying subsidence cracks! I'll take a photo of the old one all empty, and the new one when it's not overloaded with towers of boxes!

Sadly, my finest office was in my previous contract at Bangor and I'll never get a job there again. It was in the Professor's corridor in the Main Arts building - yes, as impressive as it sounds - had custom-built antique furniture, carvings and trims, a fireplace, and a balcony with views of Snowdonia and the sea. Google Bangor Uni for a photo of the (stunning) main building, and I can point out the window.

Alas, Biscuits still wins, her building is even better!

I think all the inevitable budget 'how are you affected' calculators will no doubt be interesting over the next few days Abdn. I think the VAT issue will be a biggie, so no doubt plenty of commentary about how that affects people over the next few days.

Dewin - S can't consistently jump. It was just really funny today that I said 'jump' to him and he did. He was sooooooo delighted with himself. His hit rate was about 1 in 3 though. He's been on a lot of trampolines lately - I don't know if that helped or not.

Oh, just had one thought though - higher rate tax payers will not benefit from the tax allowance increase. It is possible for two income households to have one higher rate tax payer and one basic rate tax payer to have a lower combined income than a two income household that has two basic rate taxpayers. I'm not saying that higher rate tax payers should benefit from the rise in threshold btw, just pointing out that not all two income households will have a double benefit from the tax changes.

And now to bed!

DGT RL initials are TGM

Neenz if you remember before I was pg with Luke I had an operation for slipped discs incurred from my pregnancy with DS1. I ended up with implants. 4 months after the op I fell pg with Luke and was terrified my back would go again. Anyway, no problems during 2nd pg and everything was going smoothly until Feb 1/2 term when I took the kids away on my own (surprise surprise DH couldn't get time off from work as he was away again!) and we wemt to North Wales. In Feb we had a lot of snow and ice and I ended up slipping and not quite falling. Gradually my back got worse and worse and I though it was just pulled muscles so I went to the Drs who sent me for physio. That's went the terrible sciatica started. Eventually got a referral to my spinal surgeon and after a MRI & 2 failed epidurals I went under the knife on 9th June. He didn't realise at the time, that although the implant itself hadn't failed as such, my discs and herniated sideways. The implant had to be removed, the discs trimed and a partial fusion with another impant performed. I am now nearly 2 weeks post op and getting around slowly. At least the dreadful pain has gone. Can't drive yet and tomorrow my dressing and stiches come off/out. I have the delightful corset to wear, the problem is my muffin top has now become a cake shelf due to the said corset. I really need to tone up as I've lost 3 1/2 stone since last summer and gone from a size 16/1/ to a 10/12 but still have the wobbly bits. Recovery period from the op is 10-12 weeks. Work have been great. Not bad considering I started with them in November and have been off 'sick' since end of March. I've gone private to get this operation done quickly so I can return to work. If I'd gone with the NHS I's still be waiting to see a consultant.

No sign of dropping afternoon sleep here either. There is the odd day when we are out an about, but he'll then fall asleep in the car on the way home. I'm lucky as he still sleeps 12 hours at night!

am going to put on my accountant glasses now and say my piece on a couple of things that irritate the he'll out of me when I see it written in press about tax.

1. I agree that hmrc staff cuts not helped any and of you want to up tax take address this not

more law as existing law is already there to address issues of lost revenue.

1. Tax evasion is a crime (eg builder not declaring vat), tax avoidance is not - we have a lot of case law saying that. You can't change that fact just because you feel current system doesn't

1. I would love to know who advises unison etc on these stats and where analysis comes from

but never do see that. One of my particular irritatantse is that people are turning income into capital - NO THEY CANT , there has been rules on this for 40 years so people try but IMHO I haven't seen them getting away with it.

1. If an employee(or indeed anyone connected with them) gets shares in a company they work for and don't pay the fair price for them they get taxed as salary. If anything artificial is done to those shares so suddenly they become more valuable then that too is taxable (I will stop the lecture here). Yes there is a question for hmrc abouthow you value them and if more tax is due- see point 1.

also if you change rules on this you change rules for a lot of people with smaller stakes in their companies (eg say supermarket staff).

Ah I have seen nothing on change in approach on ir35 and will post if I do.

As for the cuts it's hard to know where to draw line as it is going to hurt people who can least afford it. And not sure I agree banks the whole story (but I thought they did do something about that when would be east to ignore it and say too hard to do it as needs to bbe done internationally)that doesn't explain the ongoing

imbalance in what comes in through taxes and goes out through spending.

Libra - that sounds amazingly painful. My pelvis has just started going a bit dodgy in the last few days because of the pregnancy, and that is bad enough, but not severe like some people get. I do remember you posting on FB about having "implants removed", and thought "breast" wow how open about it you were to be publishing that. Then I read a bit more and realised that it was for your back.

What have you ended up doing for your new job?

Peter can't jump just bounces on his tiptoes. Except att he weekend he was having a tantrum and whilst holding onto a stairgate was properly jumping with both feet off the ground. He looked surprised mid tantrum to be congratulated on his jumping.

Naps - all over the place here. Since the last few weeks of 5-5.30 starts he has been improving, and amazingly slept to 7am this morning. As I have said before if I could correlate daytime with nighttime hours of sleep I might be able to optimise the whole thing, but it's completely unpredictable. Sometimes I think he runs up a sleep debt over a few days and then needs to catch up with a massive sleep one afternoon.

Thanks for the summary poppy -

off to peppa pig today it sounded like a better idea in January when we bought the tickets...

Libra that sounds incredibly painful, you poor thing. Glad to see you back and hope it is much better now.

J can jump and has been able to for about 6 months. But he can't string a sentence together so swings and roundabouts. I think toddlers often work on either language development or physical ability and J is definitely one of the latter.

It is going to be hot today. Am I the only person who sees that on the tv and groans? Its sticky and uncomfortable, J doesn't want to eat and is irritable, and the older two are fed up that they can't play properly at school but instead have to sit in the shade all playtime.

I would also like someone to invent a sunhat that it is physically impossible to remove without a lock and key.

Libra, sounds very traumatic. Hope you get well soon. Can't be easy looking after kids as well!

Sybil, lol at the sunhat - it is exhausting isn't it. E is quite good but T sometimes needs telling over and over (if we are at home I bring him inside, if we are out just have to keep putting it back on again and again - annoying!).

Poppy, so CEOs who get paid a basic of £150k and then get £2m in bonus/shares - they pay top rate of tax on that £2m? I understood that the bonus/shares things was a way to pay CGT not income tax. How is it that the cleaner pays more as a proportion of their income then? Genuine question as I only know what I read in the papers.

Tax avoidance is not a crime but it is immoral IMO - putting money offshore or even being a non-dom... for the richest people in society that is inexcusable and greedy. And they slag off the poorest for trying to maximise the benefits system (eg by trying to get on incapacity benefit instead of JSA or lying about being a single mum - these things are inexcusable too but you don't see full-page articles in the Daily Mail about the millionaire who costs the taxpayer £50,000 a year because of his tax set-up).

The budget is supposed to hit the top 10% hardest, but we are in the top 10% and I don't see how we are going to be affected at all apart from the VAT rise. We don't own anything that is subject to CGT though. We don't get any benefits anyway (except CB) so they can't be cut. I would have liked to have seen top-rate tax relief on pensions cut to basic rate, even if just for a few years. My big boss put £50m in his pension pot one year - and presumably got 40% added to it by the govt . Also 50% tax paid at £100k not £150k, though that would not have brought in much I suppose. DH is well above the 40% tax rate, we can afford to pay more (we already give 10% of our income after tax to charity which is nearly £500 a month - and we get top-rate tax relief on that too) - they keep saying we are all in this together but I don't see where we are going to be hit.

Jumping - I didn't even know it was a milestone! Not sure if the DTs can do it. They are quite good at jumping on their trampolines. I just said to T: 'can you jump?' and then I jumped to show him how. He just laughed .

Sorry I meant tax evasion is not a crime!

Short post as off to see my new nephew today (lives in the countryside so a long journey minus a car!). Dewin - jumping is not always good - Luke has a lot of bruises and has moved onto jumping off high things - like the third stair up or mummy's bed.

Sybil - I hate hot weatehr too. Am very miserable when I see 28 on the weather!

Oops, no I think I got that right the first time didn't I - tax avoidance is not a crime, evasion is. Pregnancy brain

Just a quick post to say that our offer is on it's way, they have paid their deposit and want to complete in the 1st week of September.Just need to decide where we're moving to now , no pressure!Also Tristan much better.