Child Benefit 'Rethink' For Osborne

Posted: 5/03/2012 06:19 Updated: 5/03/2012 10:46   PA

George Osborne Child Benefit
George Osborne is poised to row back on plans to strip higher earners of child benefit, it was reported on Sunday.

Chancellor George Osborne is poised to row back on plans to strip higher earners of child benefit, it was reported on Sunday.

From January 2013 parents earning more than £42,745 a year - the 40% tax rate threshold - are set to lose their payments.

But the move has proved unpopular, sparking claims that lone-parents and single-earner families are being penalised. A mother and father earning £40,000 each would keep their payments while a single parent on £43,000 would lose out.

Treasury officials are now looking at raising the eligibility cut-off point amid fears of a backlash from middle-class voters, according to The Daily Telegraph.

"The government has been clear that it is fair to ask those who are better off in our society to make a contribution to paying down the debts that we have built up over the last decade in Britain," aides said.

"It is not fair to ask someone earning £20,000 to pay for the Child Benefit that goes to someone earning £80,000 or £100,000. We will set out details of how we will implement this in the coming months."

It comes as Labour attempts to ramp up pressure on the issue by using an Opposition day debate in the House of Commons on Wednesday to call for an urgent review of the reforms.

Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls claims working tax credits could be protected if the Treasury closed a stamp duty tax avoidance loophole on properties worth more than £1 million.

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Chancellor George Osborne is poised to row back on plans to strip higher earners of child benefit, it was reported on Sunday. From January 2013 parents earning more than £42,745 a year - the 40% t...
Chancellor George Osborne is poised to row back on plans to strip higher earners of child benefit, it was reported on Sunday. From January 2013 parents earning more than £42,745 a year - the 40% t...
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13:54 on 06/03/2012
Cap it at 2 kids, the only ones who then lose out are those with huge families
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13:01 on 06/03/2012
This is what is so WRONG about this rotten state of British society, the greedy who are already on high incomes expecting child benefit. I just heard a caller complaining to Victoria Derbyshire on the BBC that her income and her partners combined which was roughly £70,000 was going to be penalised compared to a couple on £40,000 each, the top earners retaining the child benefit. It is an absolute disgrace that anyone on this combined income should receive this benefit. The benefits were supposed to be given to the POOR in society, not the WEALTHY, but the trash with cash have systematically abused this welfare in society by taking charity which they don't need, ie. David Cameron stated that one of his tory voters used child benefit as her weekly champagne allowance showing the contempt these tories have towards the poor in society. I would give these GREEDY people in society the generous charitable SANCTIONS of £4.00 a day for 6 months, which I and many other hard working poorer people were given as CHARITY, and as someone with no other benefits coming into a single person household had to live off of and with no rich benefactor to bail me out of these severe AUSTERITY conditions. Naturally this destroyed my healthy immune system and resulted in ill health. But this is the TRUE definition of CHARITY in Britain??????
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David Daisy May Boldock
Yorkshire..Gods Own Country
14:03 on 06/03/2012
Bang on the nail with that comment Catherine, and well said!
Richard Britton
British Socialist Global Realist
22:37 on 05/03/2012
the reason this so called government keeps having to go u-turn on their policy is that they apply ideology first and pragmatic fairness second

this in itself would not be so bad if they didn't have such a horrible ideology on which to base their decisions

slash and burn was never going to be applied without hurting groups in a disproportionate way and this Child Benefit policy is no different
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Mickey Mouse 1
There are no lies or deceit on a chess board.
21:49 on 05/03/2012
The best way to attract voters is to bribe them with other people's money.
19:58 on 05/03/2012
Anyone earning £40,000 or more should try being a pensioner. We can't help growing old and it appears that just because we are old we don't need money to live on. Just keep us on a pittance and tell us not complain. We'll soon be six feet under and a few more OAP's they won't have to pay out to. So stop grumbling all you big earners. Your day will come.
20:16 on 05/03/2012
You reap what you sow, when it comes to retirement and pensions.
16:44 on 05/03/2012
I know these forums can take on an agenda of their own but this is supposed to be about 'should the govt. change the existing/proposed child benefit arrangements?'

Not about benefit claimants, immigrants or a forum for the borderline racist/xenophobic elements on HP.
13:28 on 05/03/2012
LOL! Its funny that people resent the long term benefit people, which I totally agree with. BUT why is this government hell bent on destroying ordinary working people, who pay their way by forcing them onto benefits through no jobs brought on by cuts. Also this is not getting the long term people off benefits off either!!!! And more immigrants coming in claiming everything free! So this government is not helping the problem either is it!
17:01 on 05/03/2012
SO you resent long term unemployed !! i assume that includes the sick,disabled,old,Most have been in work at some time in their lives & paid into the system, the old are pensioners who are INCLUDED in so called long term unemployed,THE majority worked all their lives,THE sick who had no option but to stop working or more likely been sacked!! due to the time they have had to take off, THE disabled,this can happen to anyone at home, work,anywhere including being born that way,this & the other bunch of lieing creeps manipulate the figures to their own ends,yes there are fraudsters no one is denying that fact but there are also fraudsters in every walk of life, its not just the average person either!! MP"s,lawyers,Mayors,council managers,teachers,they are ALL AT IT !! so why just pick on the old,disabled,sick,(SIMPLE !!) because they cannot fight back thats why,& with their constant release of hatred laden statements towards these people the public believe their lies,BUT even these liers in government have HAD to admit the amount is ONLY 0.5% of the total paid out, but they have manipulated the figures to make it LOOK alot worse than what it truely is !! & if you do not believe me i suggest that you spend some time checking their statements & figures "YOU" will find these do NOT add up !! i have spent months checking them out & the more i check the more lies & discrepancies are coming to light,& ALWAYS on
17:24 on 05/03/2012
Totally agree
18:10 on 05/03/2012
Oops! Oh dear! You have read my comment completely wrong! Long term unemployed who are trying for a job and of course are having problems getting another job, thanks to this government, absolutely not! Every sympathy! But the ones who make it a profession thats questionable! Does that make sense now?
13:15 on 05/03/2012
Why can't they just admit that they don't have a clue and leave
13:23 on 05/03/2012
Who ?
The government or the people over loading our welfare system having not contributed a single penny into it ? Maybe both ;-)
13:34 on 05/03/2012
I wonder why the government has never released the real figures of those who come from overseas to claim benefit and free healthcare.......

It would mean that those posting on here would have something other than the Mail, Express and Sun for their infromation........
17:08 on 05/03/2012
simply because they are compulsive liers & would far rather accuse every one of being fraudsters than admit they are wrong,plus why would they willingly give up jobs with good wages & EVEN BETTER expenses benefits if they can lie about their incompancies & still remain in office screwing the public dry!!
13:12 on 05/03/2012
I do love it when an arrogant, shortsighted and foolish government has to make a humiliating U turn because of a seriously flawed and ill concieved policy.
They need to remember, they are the servants and we, the taxpaying voters, are their masters.
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Mickey Mouse 1
There are no lies or deceit on a chess board.
21:54 on 05/03/2012
Dream on.
16:34 on 06/03/2012
You can dream or just accept the nightmare
13:11 on 05/03/2012
just cut everything by 20%, as no matter what is done someone gets hurt or is up in arms. It's simple and stops employment of bureaucrats
12:51 on 05/03/2012
The whole benifit system needs reform it's to generous and to easy if you choose to have kid's then be prepaired to pay.immigrant's should not be able to claim benifit's if they have no work, they should be sent home.
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sean beamer
"If society fits you comfortably enough, you call
18:03 on 05/03/2012
This is a fair comment , although flawed.we need immigrants to do all the dirty little jobs our host whites wont do !
The better way is as follows-
1/You can only get SS for 365days max- reviewed and reduced to 60 % after 180 to encourage job seeking
2/Get rid of legal aid - only benefactors are lawyers and lay abouts- instaed bring in a system that lawyers work on commission basis , therefore they will not take on cases that are not win 'able'
Increase job seekers allowance to 365 again reviewed after 180 days and reduced to 75%
3/Divorce situations- the custody goes to one who can afford to pay and look after the kids NOT to mothers as they will then scrounge off the system for 16 years +/-
4/Enforce child support to the extent that defaulters lose their licenses/right to unemployment/ss and after 365 days in default they end up in prison doing labour for free to pay the dues
immigrants are only allowed into the country if they are sponsored (deposit for repartriation) and the person sponsoring is able to pay for the immigrants upkeep and medical for upto 2 years (takes complete responsibility) including repatriation in case of failure to finance
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12:45 on 05/03/2012
Reading the comments here is seems that the UK really is a nation full of resentment. Divide and rule in its purist form.
13:18 on 05/03/2012
The route cause of the resentment is the fact that the working taxpayer is paying more and more to support people who have never contributed and have no intention of contributing, they just want to take and take.
We are sick of these paracites having our hard earned money.
13:24 on 05/03/2012
Of course there are those who do not have to pay VAT on things they buy.....
17:33 on 05/03/2012
quite possible !! BUT people are so pxssed off being taken for a ride by these immigrants who are given social housing in front of our own people,having houses modified to their religous requirements like two kitchens,numerous bathrooms,being totally mislead into thinking all benefit recipients are fraudsters,having every service which most pay into cut to the bone,whilst seeing all these monied cretins getting away with tax evasion with the HELP of the government,bank managers & council managers getting bonus"s which no way reflect their position & performance,people are getting to the point where if these lieing,frauding,self serving A=HOLES in government do not start becoming more transparent in their under the counter deals the people WILL take control of their own futures at the expense of the MP"s & the security of the country,as has been proven just recently in numerous foriegn countries !! DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE the public when pushed to the limit !! they tend to be rather unpredictable !!
12:36 on 05/03/2012
The comments here are mostly truly sad, I cant read anymore! don't have kids?, why should we pay? racism? gosh people are horrid and so selfish when its anonymous.
13:03 on 05/03/2012
Very true. But I do understand why people are so enraged by this situation. There are a hardcore of career benefit scroungers and there is a sizable number of immigrants recieving benefits, neither group has ever or will ever contribute to society. They will just take and take, while we the British taxpayer gets shafted harder than ever to accomodate these paracites. It has to end, where is the justice ?
MAKE THEM WORK FOR THEIR BENEFITS....MIN. WAGE £6 per hour.
12:47 on 06/03/2012
When you have TV programmes such as Shamless can you wonder at it??
17:53 on 05/03/2012
whats the matter are you another of those people that cannot accept the truth !!! if you do not have kids whose fault is that !! medical ? then you have my simpathy (truely) but if its by preferance then remember its those kids that will be paying your O.A .pension,protecting you & this country,producing goods to keep this country going it goes on & on, RACISM !! that has been brought on by the last & present governments who have allowed this country to be flooded by immigrants,draining an already depleted pot of housing,jobs,finances,they are given more & more rights every day whilst ours are removed,try taking one of then to the race relations board for abuse of our rights & you get NOWHERE BUT call one of them a bxxxk bxxxxd & not only are you in court before your ass can hit the floor but in one of HM"s hotels as well,it will not be long before these people run this country leaving us on the outside of OUR OWN country,& people like you wonder why there is so much hatred,untill we are given OUR rights back this will & can only end one way Enoch Powell was completely correct in his foresight !!
19:02 on 05/03/2012
Like I said nasty people, I wish I wasn't British, embarrassing!!! I will never read these message boards again
19:48 on 05/03/2012
Well said!
12:23 on 05/03/2012
No one forces you to have children, if you ca'nt feed, DON'T BREED.
12:50 on 05/03/2012
If you can't spell, please don't post!

If children are not born, who will pay your pension, health service, social security etc? Think about the long term implications of what you are saying.
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21:17 on 05/03/2012
Spelling is irrelevant, as long as the post can be understood, I suppose people who's spelling's not spot on should be banned in your view?
13:08 on 05/03/2012
So if someone loses their job that has supported them and paid national insurance and income tax, what do you suggest they do with their children ??? You haven't thought it through have you ?
12:19 on 05/03/2012
How about ONLY true British born & bred people being entitled to any of the benifits???? In my eyes, the immigrants are getting higher payouts in all aspects of benifits than any true british civillian I know of.
Start looking after your own first before others that just come here for an easy, often better off - being able to afford to send money back to the also fund the rest of their family's, but NOOOO, let the true Britts suffer & live in poverty!
12:24 on 05/03/2012
So you are saying that anyone of anycolour who came to Britain, say 10 years ago andn has worked and paid taxes should not be entitled to any benefits if they were to loose their job or have children........Would you also include healthcare in this arrangement?

By the way what is your description of a 'true British citizen'?
12:29 on 05/03/2012
spain you have to live/work there for 13 years i believe and then you get a spanish pension.
Uk you come here, get benefits, you work here and after 2 years you are entitled to full benefits. I believe that is even if you don't work here any more after 2 years.
not sure how the child benefits work with migrants, but dont they send the child benefit to those who have children in home countries? where they arew already claiming their own countries benefits? 2 x benefits for migrants?
19:02 on 05/03/2012
I feel he means that anyone coming into the country should be in a finacial position to support themselves & who ever they bring in with them,! the same as if someone comes here & has work, pays their tax"s but expects us to support his family,children who are NOT resident in Britain,thats not down to us thats his home countries problem,the same with these NHS tourists!! why should these people come here after treatment even though they have never paid a penny into the system !! IF my wife or I go to america & are taken ill we have to pay so why can these people come here & get free treatment,or at the very least at a hugely discounted cost,so his statement of if you have not paid into the system then you do not get is right !!
12:53 on 05/03/2012
Just what is a 'true Brit'? Some mix of French, German, Danish, Swedish, Spanish etc? There is not one person in this country who is not of a 'mixed race' somewhere in their history.

Stop making such a fool of yourself by coming out with such 'racist' cr@p.
15:54 on 05/03/2012
Read the rest of the thread love - I have already explained my personal opinion.