Tax and Benefits Cuts

[Smiffy]

What is difficult to understand...quoting from my OP.

This.... (also quoted from your OP).......

"And so this week tax and benefits cuts kick in.
I calculate that me and my Mrs - both in full time employment with good salaries - will be about £50 a month better off.
The additional £50/week we get will make no difference to our standard of living"

Bit confusing.

 

[jusme]

My sister's husband went through a PIP assessment and as a result of that they have seen the reduction fropm about £150/week to about £100/week

Thanks for the clarification. Given that their are real cuts and changes to tax and benefits that will affect some I was confused as their are no actual cuts to PIP/DLA or carers allowance. Your families reduction is not part of the cuts, but are receiving less money as part of a reassessment of 'ability/needs'. This is very different from actual benefit cuts (such as new claims for ESA) through policy change. Your original post was misleading (perhaps unintentional) as it suggested their reduction in benefit was through part of the cuts program.

That being said I am not of the mindset of some here. Whilst I recognise there are fraudsters on benefits and this must be addressed, there are those in genuine need of support and assistance through illness/disability. Sadly those genuine claimants do get caught up in the net that is being cast to catch those fraudsters. I support and assist those genuine claimants.

 

[bobmac]

What is difficult to understand...

From your OP.........

And so this week tax and benefits cuts kick in.

I calculate that me and my Mrs - both in full time employment with good salaries - will be about £50 a month better off.

I calculate that my sister and her husband - he is disabled on PIP and she is his carer on carer allowance - will be about £50 a week WORSE off.

The additional£50/week we get will make no difference to our standard of living

Now, it's either a typing error or you have so much money you don't know what you get.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

After living in many different countries all over the world, I believe that the ease with which people can claim free money in the UK encourages too many people to do so when they could actually go out and earn it instead.

You can't claim free money and it's not easy, have you personally experienced the benefit system in the UK or is it based on the media and what your mate told you.

 

[HowlingGale]

Can we have clarification as to where you both live? If you live in England and they live in Scotland then that makes a huge difference. Remember people in Scotland are now paying more tax than those in England, due to devolved tax raising powers.

As for benefits I'm sure that's still overseen by Westminster so everyone in Britain will be in the same boat.

If they do live in Scotland they'll also get free prescriptions etc. So for someone who's disabled this will make a big difference.

 

[Crazyface]

No we dont

Nobody knows
even the people involved in the Brexit Negotiations dont know doodly squat yet

I do however agree that there should be a proper safety net in place for those that do need state assistance and that in certain cases it is the most vulnerable in society who are coming off worst, the assessment process is arbitrary and is subjective and needs looking at.

One of the reasons benefits have been hit is to entice those families for whom benefits has been a way of life for generations, off benefits and into work. this is working, but it is a balancing act and they havnt got it right yet

I would suggest that it is an impossible thing to achieve. You hit one idle person and you hurt another deserving case. Those benefit cheats are the worst and make my blood boil.

 

[Crazyface]

Can we have clarification as to where you both live? If you live in England and they live in Scotland then that makes a huge difference. Remember people in Scotland are now paying more tax than those in England, due to devolved tax raising powers.

As for benefits I'm sure that's still overseen by Westminster so everyone in Britain will be in the same boat.

If they do live in Scotland they'll also get free prescriptions etc. So for someone who's disabled this will make a big difference.

This is discrimination.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

This is difficult to understand. You posted:

"The additional £50/week we get will make no difference to our standard of living"

Sorry - I meant the additional £50/month we get...will make no difference. My sister and her hubby are losing £50/week - that being a third of their total income for food, clothing and bills. That loss of £50/week will make a HUGE difference to their already very frugal and limited lifestyle.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

If you care so much why don't you put the extra £50 a week into a charity of your choice? How much responsibility do you take for our society, or do you a abdicate that responsibility to the state then decry the state when it tries to balance the books and at the same time do the best it feels it can?

There's the socialist stance of taking money from people, pretty much everyone, surely you can remember the dark days of 33% income tax, and there's the Conservative stance of give money to as many as possible and let them take responsibility for society.

Do I agree with the wealthy getting tax cuts? The more money anyone has the more money they spend. And if its saved in stocks and shares its still feeding the economy. As for energy prices going up; surely you don't blame a political party for price rises? Next you be blaming the govt for putting the price of bread up, and for cereal price increases.

Do I have a social conscience? Serving at a soup kitchen on Christmas Day, and there's a CV that runs pages long. Put your £50 to good use, a choice this govt is giving you. Lets see how selfish you are...

I am - and my mistake after my OP - it was £50/month

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Exactly. You can understand the pull factor of Eastern EU and Asian people wanting to live in the UK and why we are spending so much on Welfare and have such a massive national debt.

Exactly - well exactly what I might have expected from you. Absolutely no understanding of the very difficult circumstances that many who have to rely on benefits - not through choice.

Do you really think £100/week for a couple to live on OK when tax is being cut for the higher earners.

 

[HowlingGale]

This is discrimination.

Can you please elaborate? Everyone in Scotland gets free prescriptions as opposed to England. Or at least that used to be the case.

Not really sure how it can be taken as discrimination, in any way.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

After living in many different countries all over the world, I believe that the ease with which people can claim free money in the UK encourages too many people to do so when they could actually go out and earn it instead.

That may or may not be the case - but my B-i-L cannot do most forms of work - and looking for that which he could do when living on the Isle of Arran is a largely fruitless activity.

 

[ger147]

Exactly - well exactly what I might have expected from you. Absolutely no understanding of the very difficult circumstances that many who have to rely on benefits - not through choice.

Do you really think £100/week for a couple to live on OK when tax is being cut for the higher earners.

I keep asking you what these tax cuts are but you still haven't replied?

 

[HowlingGale]

Exactly - well exactly what I might have expected from you. Absolutely no understanding of the very difficult circumstances that many who have to rely on benefits - not through choice.

Do you really think £100/week for a couple to live on OK when tax is being cut for the higher earners.

Tax is being increased in Scotland for high earners. Is your family in Scotland and you're in England? If this is true you're making a big deal out of an non-level playing field.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Thanks for the clarification. Given that their are real cuts and changes to tax and benefits that will affect some I was confused as their are no actual cuts to PIP/DLA or carers allowance. Your families reduction is not part of the cuts, but are receiving less money as part of a reassessment of 'ability/needs'. This is very different from actual benefit cuts (such as new claims for ESA) through policy change. Your original post was misleading (perhaps unintentional) as it suggested their reduction in benefit was through part of the cuts program.

That being said I am not of the mindset of some here. Whilst I recognise there are fraudsters on benefits and this must be addressed, there are those in genuine need of support and assistance through illness/disability. Sadly those genuine claimants do get caught up in the net that is being cast to catch those fraudsters. I support and assist those genuine claimants.

Thankyou - were there more of your mindset - but unfortunately we are turning into a pretty selfish as well as entitled society - and I'll agree that the feeling of entitlement extends corrosively into that section entitled to and claiming benefits. Though I'll note that not all who are entitled to benefits - even among the young - do not claim them.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Can we have clarification as to where you both live? If you live in England and they live in Scotland then that makes a huge difference. Remember people in Scotland are now paying more tax than those in England, due to devolved tax raising powers.

As for benefits I'm sure that's still overseen by Westminster so everyone in Britain will be in the same boat.

If they do live in Scotland they'll also get free prescriptions etc. So for someone who's disabled this will make a big difference.

My sister and B-i-L live in Scotland. They may well cope slightly better due to free prescriptions - but I suggest that theier equivalent couple in England will also get prescriptions free. Medication doesn't put food in your stomach or shoes on your feet.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

This is discrimination.

Yes - it's a problem when 90.6% of prescriptions in England are provided free of charge - when the Scottish government decided that the cost of administering a payment scheme would cost more than it would raise.

 

[HowlingGale]

My sister and B-i-L live in Scotland. They may well cope slightly better due to free prescriptions - but I suggest that theier equivalent couple in England will also get prescriptions free. Medication doesn't put food in your stomach or shoes on your feet.

Where I feel for your sister and B-i-L the higher earners on Scotland are facing more tax than those in England due to the threshold not moving in Scotland.

If you lived up here you wouldn't have a tax cut. So does the argument that they're getting less benefit still have as great an impact as you saying they're getting a benefit cut AND you're getting a tax cut? I dont think so. Yes it's bad that they have to live on less but benefits are unsustainable.

Perhaps when they get the real job-dodgers back to work they'll increase benefits to those that need it most in society, like your sister.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I keep asking you what these tax cuts are but you still haven't replied?

Personal allowance increased to £11,500 and threshold for 40% tax raised to £45,000. My income tax drops £500/annum; my wife's by £100/annum. Total £600/annum = £50/month

I live in England

 

[Hobbit]

Yes - it's a problem when 90.6% of prescriptions in England are provided free of charge - when the Scottish government decided that the cost of administering a payment scheme would cost more than it would raise.

You pretty close to the numbers there Hogie. It costs Scotland almost £70 million for free prescriptions when charging would raise about £95 million. But that doesn't include the cost of the infrastructure needed if charging was brought in. It may be that it could be piggy backed onto the infrastructure already there...

Its a shame that England doesn't follow suit with free prescriptions, especially as its the only country in the UK charging.