benefits cap

Author
Discussion

oyster

Original Poster:

12,686 posts

250 months

Thursday 2nd February 2012
quotequote all
Why are the media and politicians missing (or avoiding) one obvious and glaring error in this £26k benefits cap?

The assumption that it is set at £26k because that is what the average income is in the UK.

But that ISN'T the average income is it, because anyone working to get £26k has to pay tax on this.

AND they have to pay travel expenses to collect such income.



FFS

superkartracer

8,959 posts

224 months

Thursday 2nd February 2012
quotequote all
Yep, it's a cap @ around 45k

maxrider

2,481 posts

238 months

Thursday 2nd February 2012
quotequote all
oyster said:
The assumption that it is set at £26k because that is what the average income is in the UK.
And just why should anyone get the average income ('average' not even minimum) for NOT working?

Also isn't the £26k BEFORE tax?

0a

23,907 posts

196 months

Thursday 2nd February 2012
quotequote all
It's a start. At the moment the benefits cap is 'infinity'. The government needed to present a concept that any reasonable person could agree with – that benefits should pay no more than the average wage. Unfortunately adjusting for tax would make this more complicated to understand.

Once the cap is in place reasonable debate can occur around lowering it, certainly for different groups.

JagLover

42,794 posts

237 months

Thursday 2nd February 2012
quotequote all
You are missing the key point that is has now been agreed, and has widespread public support, that a cap at some sort of level should be established.

What will happen to this cap in the future?, will it be increased in real terms, will it be reduced even?

Once the principal is established, at a level where only around 70,000 households (from memory) were affected, what happens next is the key question.

shauniebabes

445 posts

178 months

Thursday 2nd February 2012
quotequote all
oyster said:
Why are the media and politicians missing (or avoiding) one obvious and glaring error in this £26k benefits cap?

The assumption that it is set at £26k because that is what the average income is in the UK.

But that ISN'T the average income is it, because anyone working to get £26k has to pay tax on this.

AND they have to pay travel expenses to collect such income.

FFS
JSA is taxable income
Working people on low income (who are the main recepients of Housing Benefit) pay tax, and no doubt bus fares)


oyster

Original Poster:

12,686 posts

250 months

Thursday 2nd February 2012
quotequote all
maxrider said:
oyster said:
The assumption that it is set at £26k because that is what the average income is in the UK.
And just why should anyone get the average income ('average' not even minimum) for NOT working?

Also isn't the £26k BEFORE tax?
Yep it is. And I wrote that in my OP (which you must have seen because you quoted it!).