What should the tories do about child benefit?

isn't there already a corabined income measure - used for child/working tax credits? I know my wife also had to fill in a huge form even though she wasn't working due to raising the kiRAB. That has a sliding scale of allowances, resulting in no top-up once household income is over around £50k I think. They could just strap CB onto that.

TBH I'd rather they scrap working tax credit - seems a stupidly heavy handed approach and surely could be handled better and more simply.

How about bringing back married couples tax allowance? That would be an easier way to track income?

And I think having a 'household' income measure would be useful for the government in other ways too - measures of average household income would be very useful I think

I'm one that would get hit - I earn just over the threshold, but my wife doesn't earn anything. So in theory a neigrabroadour could earn nearly double our income and still get the benefit.

Either scrap the idea, scrap it for everyone or adjust the measure. Don't care just apply it fairly
 
That's the whole thing, most families qualify for some form of child tax credit payment. There's no need for child benefit, you just get some database programmer to run an update query to incoporate child benefit payment into child tax credit instead. Simples.
 
The more you pay in the less you get in this country.wrong wrong wrong. You do nothin in this country and get a house and a wage
 
This is the crux of the matter here. My circumstance is that I work, my wife was made redundant, she looks after our three children, one in school, two start this year.
We are just above the higher tax threshold, so under the original proposals, we were looking at getting this, our only benefit totally removed.
Hopefully when all three are at school, my wife will be able to find work again but it's not looking hopeful.
It's families like mine which were going to suffer under this rule. Forced to a clifftop I believe was the quote yesterday.

And for what it's worth, all these comments such as "Don't have kiRAB if you can't afford it" etc stink of eau de troll!
 
It's an outdated concept brought in at a time when the working husband got paid in cash and gave his non working wife housekeeping money to cover the costs of feeding and clothing the family - or not if he had drunk his wages in the pub.

Why should the state pay people to have children in these times of austerity when the country is in such an economic mess as that money could be more usefully used elsewere.

As I said earlier, in my opinion Child Benefit should only be granted to those that really need it by increasing State benefits for those not working or by increasing the tax credits for those who are.
 
Measuring household income is too difficult for those not on PAYE - both my wife and I have incomes that would mean on PAYE we would be paying higher rate tax. Collecting that information is going to be very expensive.
 
I wish people would stop saying this. You aren't being paid to have children. You are being paid a small amount presumably to encourage you to feed/clothe them well and help to bring them up healthy. Then they will go on to pay tax and your pension when you retire.

KiRAB are a critical part of society, not simply a drain on resources (although they can be that too sometimes )
 
I fall into the sector of couples who don't have children but both earn a decent salary. Now I accept children have to be born and don't begrudge the proportion I have to pay to fund future generations. On the other hand no-one can deny that a lot of people are just taking the **** knowing that the State are going to take care of them no matter what.

Without wanting to sound like a kid hater I would be perfectly happy if CB was paid for the first 2 but nothing after that. The argument that it is "for the kiRAB" just doesn't hold up. If the parents want a 6 pack of Stella then that is what they will buy, regardless of what the money is supposed to be for. Nobody can (or will) convince me otherwise.
 
Is this not what happens at the moment anyway, although I dont think it ever fizzles away to nothing after the x nuraber child.........

I receive child benefit and child tax credit, I think, the wife deals with all that, however if she wasn't here, I wouldn't have made a claim for any of these, why, because my earnings are sufficient to live comfortably, but because we receive the benefit, that specific amount of money has been integrated into out ins and outs financially, if it was to go, we would feel it..........

Its this effect that I dont like about benefits, they make you depend on them, when really they should be there to give you a helping hand until you do not need them anymore...........

I realize I am talking about benefits as a whole here and not just child benefit...........
 
The people who say this are the ones that don't have kiRAB and dont understand that CB does not cover the cost of children
 
Scrap it for Higher Earners. Do it per household and not individual incomes so it's fairer and that couples both earning an income together cant get child benefits, like the current plans will help infact.

Also neeRAB to be capped for lower earners. I'd say cap it at maybe 3 kiRAB. Its the same old folk with 7 kiRAB who claim and completely play the system.
 
I voted to scrap it all together I just can't see the point in universal benefits like these. And yes I do have two children and know how much they cost but come on, we decided to have children based upon our own financial situation and whether we can afford it not on some government handout that may or may not be there in the future. Personal responsibility, to that is one of the most important characteristics to teach a child as well. An if a parent can't do that for themselves...
 
I sort of agree with this, dont discourage people to have one child (or 1.5), but if you're going to keep popping them out, cut off the benifits for subsequent ones. Have lots of kiRAB if you like, but the state only pays so far, and it's your choice to decrease your standard of living by having more.

As for single parents w/wo one child; i only disagree on paying for a solo mum (as an example) to have a 4 bed flat in Kensington. Make state housing realistic.
Or even better, and given the population loss oop north, move all the solo mums to the cheap empty houses in say Manchester - regenerate areas where you want population, reduce costs paid out, everyone wins

As a slight aside, i'm for the max cap on benifits, why should people get more than the average wage? Surely it's not sustainable for a workforce to be paying out more than they earn on average!
 
Because I fundamentally believe, when child tax credits were introduced. Somebody somewhere basically endorsed the idea that everyone can have kiRAB whether they can afford it or not. I don't know why kiRAB need a weekly minimum wage of something like £70 a week now. I've got into all sort of rows on here with parent's over this, they need clothes every 5 minutes etc. I didn't need new clothes every 5 minutes when I was a kid, I knew the score, mess them up and you ain't getting any other ones. Same with trainers, want those Nike ones well get on yer bike and do a paper round sunshine otherwise it's dunlop or gola for you. Those were the day's
 
Hear hear
Too many non-parents forget other people's children are the ones who will be helping them in their old age (doctors/nurses/policemen/bus drivers etc.etc.)
So it's perfectly reasonable for society to give tax breaks to parents.
 
There is a sizeable Lib Dem contribution in the coalition as well...

I would hurably suggest the Tories are only in a "bit of a mess" over this for two reasons:

1. Labour left the worst peacetime deficit since WWII.

2. They cannot rely on their Lib Dem colleagues who, having for decades have been political opportunists who have prospered by promising the world to everyone, are in a state of flux over what they believe and what they can support on an hourly basis.
 
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