Bedroom Tax (by sarah)
I wrote this post a while ago but never go around to publishing it!
I saw something about bedroom tax or the spare room tax and thought 'Argh! We have spare rooms oh no!' but when I checked it out I found out that it wouldn't affect us. You would think I would be happy about this as if we had to pay it we would have to move or get lodgers or something as we couldn't afford it - but I am not happy.
I wish that it did affect us as at least then it would be fair even if it was horrible for us.
Instead this tax affects those who are on benifits or in social housing. The idea is that it will make people move to smaller houses but in many places there are not smaller houses availble meaning that they will have to pay. Charities like Shelter have warned it will lead to an increase in homeless families as they fail to be able to pay it and end up loosing the homes they are in.
Siblings will have to share - sounds sensible and money saving until you realise they are not taking the size of the room into account so a house with tiny rooms counts the same as one with huge rooms, nor do I agree with the age barrier for different sex siblings sharing. The sharing will lead to what has previously been considered over crowding. You are allowed an extra room if you have a disabled person living in the house but there are still issues with the families most going to be affected being those with disabled children and a move would mean they would have to have all the ramps and stuff put in all over again...
There is another issue here were a young people who may have been thinking of staying on in education will feel they can't - they move out and their parents get whacked with the tax. If they stay they will have to pay but they can be earning money to do so - if they can find a job.
If I'd been faced with this I would not have been able to go to university.
I think though that my anger actually lays in the fact that the person who thought this up has 18 bedrooms most of which are not used. Now a tax to solve the housing crisis because it made people take on lodgers... I might have swollowed.
Fri 1st Mar 2013 9:47 am 
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By Charlee Brown, Sun 3rd Mar 2013 @ 1:04 pm
I think the disabled person only applies to disabled children as there have been couples complaining as despite one being disabled and this needing to sleep in a separate room, they are considered to only need one room per couple and this will be forced to pay the tax.
I think they should think carefully about the exceptional circumstances as it seems they really haven't done so at this stage. I don't see why we are focusing on taxing and punishing the poorest and most vulnerable in society and not on cracking down on tax avoidance and corporate tax avoidance from those who frankly can afford it, and worrying less about whether that means they'll move away as if they're not paying it they're already having a negative effect upon our economy!
By sarah, Sun 3rd Mar 2013 @ 7:54 pm
It's worse than that - again it is something where the admin costs are going to make it not worth doing anyway :/ Plus it will push people into heavier debt and stuff which all has a nock on effect :/
That sucks about the couples - I thought you had a spare room for careers regardless.