Haringey Alliance for Benefit Justice hosted an anti-bedroom tax meeting in Noel Park, Wood Green, this evening.It’s not a tax. It never will be a tax, no matter how often you refer to it as a tax. It’s a reduction in benefits.
Hugh Adams, a retired pensioner who attended the meeting, is affected by the bedroom tax said it was worse than anything Margret Thatcher tried to do during her time as Prime Minister.
The Noel Park resident said: “This tax is the most evil thing I have ever seen a government try to do. ”Really? I mean, really? Are you kidding me?
Paul Burnham, who attended the event, said 330 people have already signed the petition, including three councillors. He said: “Other councils in Brighton and Scotland have already promised not to evict people it they fall into rent arrears because of bedroom tax and want Haringey to do the same.
“The people who are affected by the tax need to come out and speak to councillors and the local MP and have their stories heard.
“We have a situation where people are being forced to leave their family, friends and livelihoods because of the tax when the whole point of society is to live somewhere you like.”No-one’s stopping you from ‘living where you like’. Get a job, earn the money and live wherever you wish, and can afford, with my blessing.
Just don’t stick your hand in my pocket and demand I pay for you to live ‘somewhere you like’ when I myself can’t afford to do so because I'm forced, under penalty of law, to pay to support you instead.
So Joolz, are the people on benefits exempt from paying taxes in the world where you live?
ReplyDeleteAlso, is the pay of those on the government tit a different sort of money to that paid to people on benefits?
Don't know what you do for a living?? (Yes I'm asking) But is your job so secure that you'll never be in receipt of benefits? You know those same benefits that you have no choice in paying for under threat of force?
If you're unlucky enough to bump your car or come home to a ransacked house after the front door has been gemmied open, and make a claim against your insurance, are you someone who is scrounging off the backs of the other premium payers?
Is it also right in your view that in such an occurrence, that after you've made a contract and paid your premium to said insurance company, half way through they decide to welch on that contract and use the loss adjusters to pay you 99p as replacement for that wide screen telly because I saw one sold for that on ebay, same make and model as yours?
I mean why should the underwriters and other premium payers lose out because of your neglect, incompetence or laziness?
This is after all the argument you're proffering wrt benefit recipients.
Yes, how annoying is this allusion it's a 'tax'. As you say, it is a reduction in benefits.
ReplyDeleteBut maybe it's better to call the 'charge' for what it really is.
It's rent. In fact it's a small proportion of rent, either 14% or a maximum of 25%. So - you may have to pay one whole quarter of your rent, or less.
Of course it was worse in my day, when I lived in a council property. I had to pay 100% rent and this at the same time as paying tax and NI and petrol to work and back and lots of other things.
The pressure to pack it all in and enjoy free rent was almost overwhelming. I suppose the only reason I didn't do so was because I didn't wish to be horribly 'oppressed'.
I mean, if I hadn't been working, then quite naturally I would have had more disposable income (everyone I know unemployed has that widescreen that Budvar mentions, runs a car, a mobile phone or two and eats out every mealtime) and so, by purchasing more things, I would have been oppressed into forking out more VAT, like the regualr unemployed are. And as for all that extra duty on fags and cider......!
So you see, I was avoiding tax in a way. I mean, how much VAT did I have to pay on my 100% rent? Precisely - none at all. I will also admit to attempting to offset travelling costs to work and various other 'expenses' against tax too. It's terribly unfair. How often do you imagine the oppressed unemployed claim petrol expenses for going scoring?
Paul.
Isn't it wonderful to find that the Lie-More Party, under the direction of Eds Millibrain and Gotno-Balls are becoming the strongest supporters of the rights of landlords to live off the state.
ReplyDeleteObviously the buses don't stop where somebody ^ lives!
ReplyDeleteHmm, do benefits recipients pay tax? Let's see, well VAT etc. yes, but ... what are they paying that tax with Bud? Money taken from tax-payers - try, at least, to use that thing for something other than keeping your ears apart.
The insurance metaphor you use is fallacious, You equate paying a fee to insure against replacing/repairing in the event of an unexpected/unpredictable accident with people paying an extra 20% on their biscuits 'requiring' everybody else pay for their housing/bills and welfare for the rest of their lives (and specifying where and which property too). And no, what the sparse few paid when employed doesn't pay for even the smallest fraction of what they expect back (assuming they ever did work).
This 'tax', 'atrocity' that some seem to think it is simply requires that if you 'need' a one bedroom property and you live in a two bedroom, you don't get the extra benefits to pay for 'something you do not need' (and having a spare for friends/visitors/somewhere to store all your toys isn't a need). Again, try to get your facts straight.
Here's a thought, why don't all those nice people who wish to remain in the same area but are living (rent free) in properties with too many bedrooms... house share. Ah, but whilst they'll campaign together I'd bet they'd end up killing each other if they lived together - we can only hope.
Bunny
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a child I went to church, this was a requirement of my Mother, one of the things I remember was the Profession of Faith, this reminds of the Profession of Faith. Comments such as 'worse than Thatcher', 'break up of families etc' and 'atrocity', I wonder how long till it actually becomes a structured profession?
The left wing profession of faith, 'I believe in our moral superiority, that we are so much nicer than everybody else, we can do whatever we like because we're nice...'
Cllr Joe Goldberg responds after Haringey Alliance for Benefit Justice asks council to do more to protect benefit claimants...
ReplyDelete"Haringey Borough Council would love to protect benefit claimants from the effects of welfare reform but it simply cannot afford to do so."
Cllr Goldberg added: “The solutions you are proposing could cost us several million pounds and they are simply not sustainable in a world where we are facing a 50 to 60 per cent cut to the budgets of local authorities.”
So, that's all sorted then.
As a tax payer, I'm prepared to contribute towards providing housing for those less well-off. But I'm not going to pay for someone's walk-in wardrobe, toy cupboard, guest room or office.
200 000 million saved in benefit reduction 150 000 million in gov grants to help lga DO SOME MATHS only 50 million saved WELL WAKE UP SOMEONES NOT PAYING TAXES MORE THAN THAT
ReplyDeleteBravo, Budvar. It's refreshing to see something other than black-and-white, pre-fabricated prejudice on this page.
ReplyDelete"Don't know what you do for a living?? (Yes I'm asking)..."
ReplyDeleteI work in computing.
"If you're unlucky enough to bump your car or come home to a ransacked house after the front door has been gemmied open, and make a claim against your insurance, are you someone who is scrounging off the backs of the other premium payers?"
As Able's pointed out, that has nothing to do with, well, anything mentioned here.
"...(everyone I know unemployed has that widescreen that Budvar mentions, runs a car, a mobile phone or two and eats out every mealtime..."
The Left will scream that the plural of anecdote isn't data. But they love to use it themselves, especially when trying to persuade us that this 'tax' is iniquitous!
"The left wing profession of faith, 'I believe in our moral superiority, that we are so much nicer than everybody else, we can do whatever we like because we're nice...'"
Spot on!
"As a tax payer, I'm prepared to contribute towards providing housing for those less well-off. But I'm not going to pay for someone's walk-in wardrobe, toy cupboard, guest room or office."
ReplyDeleteMe neither.
" It's refreshing to see something other than black-and-white, pre-fabricated prejudice on this page."
Then why do you keep visiting?
Pensioners and people on pension credits still get their full rent paid, a little known fact.
ReplyDeleteThe Noel Park resident said: “This tax is the most evil thing I have ever seen a government try to do.”
ReplyDeleteBe fair, Julia. This chap might not have seen Hitler et al in action. :-)