Adventures in the UK : Bedroom tax hilarity

[DCharlieJP]

so... There's a new "thing" in the UK where if you receive any benefits at all (disability, unemployment, child benefits etc) -and- you live in council owned non-private rented accommodation -and- you have a spare bedroom - then you will be taxed at a rate of what is looking in some cases to be around 80 quid a week. This is the hilarious new Bedroom Tax that becomes active in the UK in April. Before we get into this a bit more - note this is specifically a law targeting the bottom end earners of the country, sweeping in with it the disabled and the elderly etc (oh and whilst passing this the current government vowed to protect rich peeps from a proposed "mansion tax" to pop a similar charge on those poor unfortunates who own -second- properties valued over 2 million quid #wibble

So anyways -

you and your wife sleeping in separate rooms ? Well that's no longer happening - even if you are estranged or if your wife is sick or if your wife is disabled then tough shit. Get into one room.

Have a kid? Well okay we will allow you one room for them. But wait ... You have two kids? Well - they are going to have to have the same room if they are under 10 - regardless of sex. If they are over 10 and under 16 ? Well - okay - we don't want you incest loving poors getting it on so we allow you to have your own rooms. But if you have kids of the same sex over 10 and under 16 then you get those two living in one bedroom.

Oh - you have family members away serving the country in the armed forces for a year or two and their bedrooms are empty? Well tough shit - we'll be taxing you

It's great you are acting as a foster family - it really is. But for the purposes of this tax reform we don't recognise foster children as live-in people - so bend over and prepare for tax.

So - okay - that's good. You are going to rent out the spare room to a lodger. Fantastic - we won't hit you with the tax... but that means you have supplemented income from a lodger! So we'll take away all your other benefits instead!


Looool - it's absolute criminal mastermind evil genius.

Bare in mind that along with this on the news reel not only do we have our PM saying he'll defend the non-taxing of the top earners in the country - but we're starting to get noise about Royal Bank of Scotland needing another big pay out and how the tax payer (as we own the bank) still needs to pay huge bonuses to their staff because if we don't their top employees might leave.... Lol. oh and p.s. the government is going to ask for substantially more cash in the budget and to pay for that you plebs will get reduced hospital, police, fire etc services!

I have no idea why people aren't rioting in the streets. They are actively getting the piss taken right out of them.

[Mandark]

What about granny flats!?

[Madrun Badrun]

Wait British people don't want their kids to engage in incest?  Now I'm confused.

[DCharlieJP]

Granny flats - you are okay I think. But granny flats are unlikely to be part of rented council housing

[DCharlieJP]

Wait British people don't want their kids to engage in incest?  Now I'm confused.

No - the government don't want it happening - because it's free fun!

[Madrun Badrun]

Damn government.  Stopping the English from having fucked up teeth would be like forcing the Scots to stop wearing kilts.   

[Human Snorenado]

Everything I know about the UK I learned from Pulp and Blur songs

[Barry Egan]

So even if you have 2 kids (under 10, lets say) they will charge the tax using the reasoning that they should be living in the same room?  Americans would never stand for the government telling us where to put our kids.

[DCharlieJP]

So even if you have 2 kids (under 10, lets say) they will charge the tax using the reasoning that they should be living in the same room?  Americans would never stand for the government telling us where to put our kids.

yes - if you have 2 kids under ten - they have to move into a single room. If that frees up a room? Then we want 40-80 quid a week thanks.

Bear in mind this is for people in council rented property only.

Oh and the solution is? DOWNSIZE or GET A BETTER JOB!

Slight issue - there's NO WHERE TO DOWNSIZE TO and THERE'S NO JOBS!

[Mr. Gundam]

British taxation is hilariously ridiculous. I remember learning about the door knob tax when I was visiting cousins over there in the late 90s.

Wasn't there also a tax for having a color TV?

Everything I know about the UK I learned from Pulp and Blur songs

[Barry Egan]

so is council rented property what we would call The Projects?

[DCharlieJP]

British taxation is hilariously ridiculous. I remember learning about the door knob tax when I was visiting cousins over there in the late 90s.

Wasn't there also a tax for having a color TV?

Everything I know about the UK I learned from Pulp and Blur songs

window tax was a marvel!

but at least that was designed to scale up with wealth so the poorest paid the least.

Right now - it really is just out and out war on the bottom end of the spectrum here. Like i say - literally on the news you go from this item to "well, we the tax payers have to pay massive bonuses (RBS - taxpayers own 81% of the bank) to the people who caused financial meltdown because if they don't get a huge wad of cash they'll leave for another high paid job elsewhere" - sandwiched between "well, to pay for all this we'll need to cut basic services to everyone!"

It's almost a comedy - it's utterly barefaced. And again - when did brits become such pussies that all they do is write about it on message boards and facebook instead of doing something about it (oh wait ... that's what i'm doing!). But seriously - where's the Poll Tax style marching on London? *

It's basically now the government seeing how much they can get away with - because if no one says anything they'll keep coming up with stupid ideas like this.


* The Poll Tax was replaced by "Council Tax" - this is "the bill every household in England pays to cover their local authority, fire, police and county council's charges" - but -apparently- even though that's what that tax is for the money is all gone ! ROOFLECOPTER you can't make this shit up.

[Cerveza mas fina]

I dunno man, people living in council flats should be happy they get em.

[T-Short]

To para Frankie Boyle, encouraging employment and social mobility by cutting benefits is like encouraging immortality by taking away medicine

[Cerveza mas fina]

Scandi hippie

Howa your millionersvenks doing

[DCharlieJP]

To para Frankie Boyle, encouraging employment and social mobility by cutting benefits is like encouraging immortality by taking away medicine

Half Man Half Biscuit : If god had meant for us to work, then i'm sure he would have given us jobs.

There's nowhere to go and no work - the solution to the problem the government are creating doesn't exist.

[Cerveza mas fina]

Theres always work.

Maybe these people should move to china and work in factories.

People move to other countries all the time if things are bad. Just that westerners arent used to this doesnt mean they wont have to adapt to this new world order. youre no longer only competing for jobs with Joe down the street, but with Wei Shan in Shenzen too.

[Momo]

This is crazy

[Mandark]

Without checking the numbers or anything, I'm pretty sure the cost/benefit calculation of Brits going to China for jobs is a hell of a lot different from other big historical job-driven emigration waves (Irish to US, Italians to Argentina, Mexicans to US, Turks to Germany, the Great Migration of blacks within the US), before you even start to think about Chinese immigration policy.

Also, the problem ain't a structural new world order, it's a global downturn where you can't just pack up to where things are good, cause things are generally crap all over.



PS I only skimmed the initial post before, and didn't catch the part at how they calculate how many bedrooms you need for your kids.  lolcry indeed

[Cerveza mas fina]

I didnt read either tbh.

Poor poor people

The Iron Lady would know how to solve this.

[Brehvolution]

'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
And you're working for no one but me.

[radioheadrule83]

Hopefully riots in the Summer and a police force too low on morale to react effectively

2 more years of these gobshites

[Human Snorenado]

I didnt read either tbh.

Poor poor people

The Iron Lady would know how to solve this.

holy shit, it's lager going off half cocked about shit he doesn't know about?

WELL I NEVER

[Cerveza mas fina]

What were we talking bout again? :p

[Human Snorenado]

You guys gonna swap gfs too?

[Cerveza mas fina]

Trail of tears? I already go to GAF daily.

But sounds good brah.

I wont swap my fiancee though 

[chronovore]

Dcharles, I thought your country's government had more overall transparency, and a higher public response rate to bad government decisions than the USA. Why the hell isn't there more righteous indignation? I thought that was the UK's number one export!

[DCharlieJP]

Bwahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa - not quite. I am still stunned no one is rioting.

In truth the response from companies busted in the Horse scandal has shocked me. Their entire response is "it's consumers fault for making us reduce costs and lie to them that our beef was beef, but we will actually make sure our beef is beef in future ... but prices have to go up!"

I am utterly stunned at the gall of these people. Utterly amazing. it's basically "oh we got busted - ah well, now we put prices up! oh P.S. it was your fault all along!" errr.... what?!

[brawndolicious]

Prices would go up how? Horse meat is more expensive than cow.

[Polari]

Dcharles, I thought your country's government had more overall transparency, and a higher public response rate to bad government decisions than the USA. Why the hell isn't there more righteous indignation? I thought that was the UK's number one export!

The tabloids are constantly feeding the British public that the real enemy isn't the bankers, but rather the neighbour that's scamming an extra couple of hundred a week in benefits. Plus rioting's less appealing since Poundland upped security and Comet went out of business.

[DCharlieJP]

Prices would go up how? Horse meat is more expensive than cow.

Not even close - horse is 1000euros per ton , beef is 4000 euros per ton - the supermarket argument is that now consumers want beef in their beef products that Beef will go up to 6000 euro per ton so all beef products have to go up... And it's consumers fault

Meanwhile it's becoming clear there is zero difference between Low end brand food and "upper" brand food - this should all be absorbed as food education. At least in the north - this has lead to supermarkets taking a hit whilst local butchers are seeing a roaring trade.

Gooooood show

[DCharlieJP]

Dcharles, I thought your country's government had more overall transparency, and a higher public response rate to bad government decisions than the USA. Why the hell isn't there more righteous indignation? I thought that was the UK's number one export!

The tabloids are constantly feeding the British public that the real enemy isn't the bankers, but rather the neighbour that's scamming an extra couple of hundred a week in benefits. Plus rioting's less appealing since Poundland upped security and Comet went out of business.

Yup - the right wing papers were feeding fringe cases as reasons why ALL benefits should stop - The Mail going as far as saying that the free labour to Poundland etc in return for basic benefits should be enforced.

I don't see why they fail to see that this means Poundland and co will NEVER need to take on staff

"Should we pay some one a wage or should we use rolling 2 monthly free labour forever? ... We'll figure that out after we have figured out a way to not put beef in our fucking beef products"

[Cerveza mas fina]

I was in the UK this week, jesus you're a nation of hipsters. This is the first time since 2009 that I've been to London/Brighton but shit is crazy, compared to Ireland at least.

[Polari]

London and Brighton != England. I know what you mean though, I felt like a zoo exhibit there were so many knackers gawking at me in Cork over Xmas.

[Cerveza mas fina]

Polari where you from/at?

Cork isnt too bad as far as knackers go but its sooo small

[Dickie Dee]

Knacker = Irish chav   

[Polari]

Polari where you from/at?

Cork isnt too bad as far as knackers go but its sooo small

From Wellington, New Zealand but live in London. Cork's the second largest city in Ireland though isn't it? Lovely place but it definitely feels pretty provincial. I've never been to Dublin but have always assumed it's a lot more cosmopolitan in nature.

[Cerveza mas fina]

Its the second largest, but in reality its just a tiny town yep. Dublin is a real city but nothing compared to London, I wouldnt really call it hip or trendy.

I def prefer living in Ireland though, the atmosphere is just way more friendly.

[Cerveza mas fina]

Knacker = Irish chav   

Yep

[Polari]

I def prefer living in Ireland though, the atmosphere is just way more friendly.

Definitely.

[Squiddy]

Its the second largest, but in reality its just a tiny town yep. Dublin is a real city but nothing compared to London, I wouldnt really call it hip or trendy.

I def prefer living in Ireland though, the atmosphere is just way more friendly.

On the otherhand, abortion is banned in Ireland because it is more religiously distinguished mentally-challenged than the US.

[Trent Dole]

Being more religiously distinguished mentally-challenged than the states is so fucking pathetic it almost goes back around to being impressive.

[Barry Egan]

but they have President Higgens, he seems pretty cool.