budget day i wonder what will be coming our way …

... Grease yourself up, bend over and prepare for penetration.

Just a guess.

us all being allot poorer I would guess.

I work in the public sector. The missus works in the public sector. I cant hardly wait.

Yay.

I think there's a possibility that I'll be better off, actually...

Possibly. If the income tax threshold goes up, that's going to help lots of low income folks.

Then again, if the VAT goes up, we're all back at square one...

You may be ok, hopefully, they seem to have been making alot of the fact that 32% of workers in the North East work in the public sector. I think that will be hit hardest. Not only for the fact that many of the workers found jobs in the public sector after the shutting down of heavy industry.

What bugs me is that at no time has any Government MP mentioned reclaiming unpaid tax and closing tax loopholes so that instead of HMRC cutting jobs they could employ more that could reclaim monies owed, or avoided, without any need for cuts.

In November 2009 the Treasury Select Committee reported that HMRC had £28 billion of unpaid tax debt. Furthermore, stamping out tax evasion and illegal non-payment of tax may further save £70 billion a year according to a report by one of the Unions that represents a majority of the staff at HMRC.

Recession doesn't have to equate to cuts. We just need to use our heads rather than be constantly brainwashed that everyone has to suffer.

1) I hope they do something about the complex nightmare that is the child tax credit system.
2) And public sector pensions. They are gold plated compared to private sector ones and are unaffordable in the long term.
3) Just out pointless government paperwork. It just wastes tax payers money that could go on front line services rather than admin staff just to give the government of the day bragging rights when numbers go up.
4) Do something to stop the welfare state becoming a lifestyle choice for the lazy. If they get more money sitting on their arse than they would do in a full time job, they're being given too much.

EDIT

Wow, that does seem like a big of a right wing rant, but I stand by it. Costs have to be cut, and seeing as the private sector has taken Brown's beating for the last 13 years, it time the public sector felt the pain too.

Get rid of it?

Never been entirely sure why anyone gets tax relief for choosing to do what a monkey can do. I'm open to being convinced as to why anyone should, I've just not heard a good argument for it yet.

If they need to, yes. If I'm selfish I'd admit I like getting money from it. But if I'm being honest I earn enough to do without it in these hard times. They should just increase the basic child allowance and ditch this credit. It would cost less over all, plus there'd be admin savings too.

Why increase child allowance? Why get any benefit at all for merely reproducing? Why should I pay for anybody's children?

*gets snacks and pulls up a comfy chair*

I'm inclined to agree with this. In particular when you consider that having lots of children is the main 'tool' used by those that want to live as dole monkies.

Having said that, I don't have children and probably won't be able to afford to for a couple of years.

That is the right sort of attitude.

I think you should get it for the first two. Any more after that and you're on your own.
(Based on two adults having two children would roughly maintain the population, not allowing for accidental death, immigration etc)