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Yesterday a think tank policy director told me live on radio that working people shouldn't have to pay for children in families on benefits.
Their view is either staggeringly ignorant of the basics of tax & welfare policy or else guilty of the worst kind of political motive. 1/4
Their view is either staggeringly ignorant of the basics of tax & welfare policy or else guilty of the worst kind of political motive. 1/4
1. Whether in or out of work, we all pay tax. Income tax & NICs are worth just 1/3 of the tax base. Billions of £s are paid in VAT/council tax/fuel duty by people out of work every single year.
2. Most welfare claimants also pay income tax. Income tax is calculated annually and 75% of out-of-work claims last less than 12 months -- most move directly back into work. Even more importantly, 56% of families receiving the child element of Universal Credit are also in work.
3. A social safety net is an insurance scheme ready for all of us, not just those leaning on it at a particular moment in time. On average, everyone in work has a 1.5 in 100 chance of becoming unemployed every three months. The odds across a lifetime are far, far higher.
This person likely knows all the above.
They also know that one person's tax payment is no more hypothecated to another's Universal Credit than to their grandparent's state pension income, or the salary of their GP.
Nonetheless, they still decided to say what they said.
They also know that one person's tax payment is no more hypothecated to another's Universal Credit than to their grandparent's state pension income, or the salary of their GP.
Nonetheless, they still decided to say what they said.
