Petition against reducing UK tax credits

[MeSci]

This may affect some people here who work. TBH, I have lost track of what tax credits are being cut - maybe just for people with children? I get Working Tax Credits with the disability element and have just received my renewal confirmation (yippee) which all looks good.

Petition:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/punishing_poor_uk/?befMaab&v=61550

 

[worldbackwards]

This may affect some people here who work. TBH, I have lost track of what tax credits are being cut - maybe just for people with children?

No confirmation 'til Wednesday as far as I know, though George made it clear yesterday that some are definitely going yesterday on TV ( We on ESA have had no word as yet, though that may just be because they can dress tax credits up a bit, whilst attacking the disabled never seems like a good look).

The best guess I've heard is that anything that was in place during the first round of tax credits will stay, whilst anything implemented after 2004 will go. What that means for particular benefits I don't really know.

 

[MeSci]

Well, this is one report on the speech.

Note this bit:

Working-age benefits to be frozen for four years - including tax credits and local housing allowance, but excluding maternity pay and disability benefits

This would appear to be totally inconsistent with claims to be trying to incentivise people to work, except those who can leap straight from benefits into well-paid work.

It will disincentivise those of us who have been struggling to do what is often the only kind of work that is possible with this illness - self-employed work from home - which often pays almost nothing. There is no way that people like me can do a job that does not have the flexibility that home-based self-employment allows. So the only alternative for people like me might be to give up trying to work and apply for ESA.

I am just so relieved that I will get my state pension next year and can stop worrying about all this. Working Tax Credit has been my main source of income since 2007. At least WTC is only being frozen and not stopped altogether.