The Budget

[Tiggy]

Umm, I'm looking at the links, does this mean my kids' child benefit will be frozen?

[Mark]

Yes.

I spotted a corker the pundits seem to have missed. Unemployed? Got mortgage? You'll get 28% less housing benefit come October then (6.08% to 4.37%). That's £100 pcm on a £70k mortgage. And that's before the cap, too.

Me, I got away lightly, for now. Looks like about £11 worse off from VAT and 2% p.a. from the personal allowances, and that's it. Unless I lose my job, anyway. Counting my lucky stars right now and feeling for those who've been shafted.

Still, if that "golden rule" figure of £485bn holds up to scrutiny, then it just goes to show how wrecked the finances really were. Pain now or more pain later.

[Tiggy]

Ah, no increase sounds better than what I originally thought- frozen as in not being paid at all.

[Desmo]

Originally Posted by Matblack

Public sector always gets screwed no one gives a toss apart from the people who work in the public sector.

And the private sector have been losing jobs and had pay freezes way before the public sector. I took a pay cut 18-24 months ago as have many other people. I can't see why the public sector can't join us.

[Will]

Originally Posted by Desmo

And the private sector have been losing jobs and had pay freezes way before the public sector. I took a pay cut 18-24 months ago as have many other people. I can't see why the public sector can't join us.

Indeed. I had a pay freeze AND a pay cut, and was put through a redundancy matrix (fortunately scored highly). However a lot of people I know lost their jobs. A lot of my friends and Sam work in public sector areas, but they;'re not being raped at all... a pay freeze for a couple of years really isn't that bad is it? It's not as if the economy can afford to increase your pay as it stands now anyway - so what difference does it make?

[Garp]

Originally Posted by Will

Rather this than Labour benefits to all and sundry whilst taxing the middle/high earners.

I agree with you completely up until this bit.. The high earners don't get taxed.
They do ostensibly, I mean the taxes are right there, but it's a myth that they actually get taxed because most of them are smart enough to work the system, or pay for accountants to help them work it. Taxes were sold to the population on the basis that the rich would be taking the main load off the poor and middle class for war expenses.
The reality is the rich pay little of the taxes they're 'supposed' to pay and the poor and middle class are the ones that make up the bulk of the tax income. It makes me laugh when I hear people talking about raising the taxes on the rich, because it really won't net as much as the general population would believe, and you can pretty much guarantee any attempt to deal with loopholes in the tax system will only result in the rich / smart folks finding other ways through it.

The UK never used to have an income tax it didn't come in until only 1842 (by the Tories), and only as a temporary measure. 168 years of that temporary measure and counting... even then that was to fund a war.

But yes, the economy and the country is screwed, and harsh steps need to be taken.

[Will]

Oh don't get me started on the high earners - that pisses me right off as they evade all the tax changes (well not all.... but get away with murder), and will continue to do so.

[Mark]

Similar to Will. Two-year pay freeze so far (and no news about this year yet), and I was placed at risk but scored highly with senior management.

My immediate manager got stung by the 10% CGT rise. Selling SAYE share options. I had some of the same options but not enough to go over the threshold and I sold them ages ago (for a lot less than what they would have been worth now).

[Grandad]

seems reasonably fair given the circumstances though with the size of the deficit I am not sure it is enough

[Knipples]

I'll happily take a pay freeze if it means I get to keep my job, that said I don't earn enough (they said 21k and over) in a year for that to affect me.

I am also in the camp that if you earn over a certain amount in your household (lets say 50k) that you shouldn't be able to claim things like child benefit and tax credit, because lets face it, earning that kind of money, you aren't really going to have your lifestyle changed by receiving an extra 15 quid a week, however it would mean a whole lot more to someones household who is only earning 20k a year.