A few days ago, Croydonian posted about some research by a blogger called 3Spoken who had formally calculated, using the Treasury official rules, that the marginal tax rate for what has become known as a "hard working family" is 70%. This problem stems from the way Gordon Brown encourages dependency on the state, thereby ensuring that there is no social mobility for those at the bottom.Why would there be no social mobility? Well, once you find yourself in the tax credit system you are subject to re-assessment when your circumstances change. Do some overtime, lose tax credits. It's pretty simple really. Save some money, lose tax credits. At its very core, the system, by design, locks people into their current circumstances with no scope for escape - bar winning the lottery.
Take, for example, the case of 13katrina 13katrina and her husband got themselves into lots of debt and their marriage broke down. It has taken some time for the two of them to get back on their feet and the marriage seems to have fixed itself. However, they now find themselves trapped in Gordon's tax credit system, which means they cannot move back in together. If they tried, whilst she might herself be better off after re-assessment to the tune of £100-150 per month, her husband would no longer have £350 per month expendable income.
So, not only does Gordon Brown's tax credit system create dependency on the state thereby restricting social mobility, but it breaks up families too. Now you know the reason why the baby in that picture is crying.
7 comments:
Dizzy,
... and they're marriage broke down...
You mis-use both the possessive and the apostrophe.
Do you mean.....
... and their marriage broke down...
You must have gone to a comp., not a 'grammar' school!
I went to grammer (sic) school as it happens. My problem is worse, I don;t proof read and just type too fast without thinking. Hence I have semi-colon all over the place and sometimes I get its and it's round the wrong way even though I do in fact no the difference. See I just did it then too with know.
Dizzy, I have been banging on about the 70% tax rate for people on working families tax rate for years, though idiotically not on my blog. I have plastered it all over political betting and emailed it to CCHQ several times.
im sure i read somewhere it was higher than that especialy if you were on min wage.if gordo gets the prize we are all screwed though tractor out put will rise year on year(drops jaw sucks something).
The UK has the longest dole queue in the world due to 'tax credits'.
Two things really bother me about this:
1.) how to wean people off it now that it is a firm part of everyone's budget?
2.) Employers set their wages with tax credits in mind, they assume that people will claim them. Tax credits are simply a subsidy for business.
Ps.: People who find typos in my writings are of course entitled to keep them ;)
....but Labour want people porr and on beneifts. Then they vote Labour. Whay would they change this?
They are very clever at weaning you off. I seem to have paid all tax credits I have received back in tax! Neat! And they are still telling me they have overpaid me...More trouble than it is worth.
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