sleepless Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 (edited) http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20100218/tuk-disney-pose-snared-benefit-cheats-6323e80.html you have to be home by 8 o'clock Edited February 18, 2010 by sleepless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headrow Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20100218/tuk-disney-pose-snared-benefit-cheats-6323e80.html you have to be home by 8 o'clock What happens to the 70k they've stolen? Is it just wrote off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shindigger Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Ah yes, Kent Cunty Council, where the chief exec pulls in a cool £900k per annum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bear Monger Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 (edited) Ah yes, Kent Cunty Council, where the chief exec pulls in a cool £900k per annum. Exactly. I couldn't give a fig about benefits cheats - it is overpaid and inept councillors that raise my ire. Edited February 18, 2010 by Bear Monger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hilltop Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Ah yes, Kent Cunty Council, where the chief exec pulls in a cool £900k per annum. HOW MUCH ??!! Even I am not worth that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awaytogo Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20100218/tuk-disney-pose-snared-benefit-cheats-6323e80.html you have to be home by 8 o'clock There are that many on the fiddle,they are not even scratching the surface. The country is riff with benefit fraud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bomberbrown Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 From the article: We are taking a tough line on benefit thieves because last year they stole around £0.9 billion Have I acquired some sort of tolerance that makes me think that this isn't a huge amount of money, in the grand scheme of things?? 1.3 trillion UK debt and all that. I must be going soft, and I'm a vehement anti benefit cheat Nazi at the best of times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hedgefunded Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Right, that's it. I can feel a couple more Nikon lenses coming on to take my yearly profit to bugger all. Working Tax credits will pay for them :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffk Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 There are that many on the fiddle,they are not even scratching the surface. The country is riff with benefit fraud. benefit fraud cost 1 billion tax avoidance cost 20 billion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bomberbrown Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Right, that's it. I can feel a couple more Nikon lenses coming on to take my yearly profit to bugger all. Working Tax credits will pay for them :-) Working Tax Credits rock!!!!! I mean, you don't even have to be paying income tax in the first place....for which to be credited back!! Ultimate win/win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hedgefunded Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Working Tax Credits rock!!!!! I mean, you don't even have to be paying income tax in the first place....for which to be credited back!! Ultimate win/win. Shocking really and I completely keep everything legit but having paid 40% tax for years I'm damned well going to claim now that I'm self employed and making about 5 grand. Bought a £3k Nikon/Lens combo this year as I do a lot of photography work for my websites but I wouldn't have done so if I couldn't knock the £3k off of profits and let the taxpayer pay about 80% of the cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammo Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Big Brother is coming for you! For Michael Barrymore, this hits home on so many levels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tbatst2000 Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 http://uk.news.yahoo...ts-6323e80.html you have to be home by 8 o'clock Ignoring these two who are obviously crooks, where's the dividing line here? I mean, if you shagged your lodger say once every six months would that be ok? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Britney's Piers Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 Yep and the Police & HMRC hope to catch criminal activity like benefit fraud, or tax evasion by using the new Facial Recognition Technology as well. Not only are police trialing it on the street to catch criminals who walk past bobbies on the beat, it will be used to look through millions of online photos on various websites like Facebook, Fliker et al. http://www.hertsandessexobserver.co.uk/Bishops-Stortford/Facial-recognition-at-Stansted-Airport.htm http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article5504534.ece http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facial_recognition_system Big Brother is coming for you! I think I may take to wearing the burkha, it;s my human right after all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken_ichikawa Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 How on earth can such a photo give away a relationship?. A very long time ago before I met scum landlords (the ones who keep your deposit and rip you off like nuts and never repair anything and claim broken things were things you broke). I had this one landlord who went out with us on the beer all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
South Lorne Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 "Benefit thieves have to understand that they will not get away with it." ...what about the MP expenses thieves who spent their gains on taxable items and have never been investigated by HMRC... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R K Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 benefit fraud cost 1 billion tax avoidance cost 20 billion Spot on! Top few hundred thousand stealing from the 59,800,000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Deflation Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 Wonder if the government have been using some of the new anti-terror laws to clamp down on benefit cheats. You know, the same way that our beloved local authorities use anti-terror laws to penalise people for letting their dogs sh1t on the pavement. I am not condoning benefit cheats, but I still wonder why the government aren't still looking a little closer to home when it comes to clamping down on public-money pilfering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
South Lorne Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 benefit fraud cost 1 billion tax avoidance cost 20 billion ...both are equally as bad ...one does not justify the other if we are 'piggie' in the middle....do you have a link for these figures....?.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saving For a Space Ship Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 Benefit Cheats Watch Out we are really going to get tough on you By running out of money, and not being able to pay you anything? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barrabus Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 By running out of money, and not being able to pay you anything? The most concerning thing in this article is the gov dept got a search warrant while they were on holiday.This raises various questions such as ,how did they know they were on holiday ,why would a magistrate give a search warrant?This realy is a police state Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
South Lorne Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 The most concerning thing in this article is the gov dept got a search warrant while they were on holiday.This raises various questions such as ,how did they know they were on holiday ,why would a magistrate give a search warrant?This realy is a police state ...due to the nature of the claims probably trying to work out how they could afford to go on holiday...now we know.... this is no police state ...but it is my money... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffk Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 ...both are equally as bad ...one does not justify the other if we are 'piggie' in the middle....do you have a link for these figures....?.... A leading accountancy expert, Professor Prem Sikka, estimates that £25bn is lost to the Treasury each year through multinationals basing themselves in low-tax environments. ‘The precise figure is impossible to work out. Some say it could be as much as £80bn. We don’t know because the Treasury refuses to undertake detailed research to get accurate estimates. It is dodging the issue.’ according to the DWP, intentional benefit fraud costs the UK taxpayer £1.1bn a year. http://benefitsculture.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/what-costs-us-more-benefit-fraud-or-corporate-tax-avoidance/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffk Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 'Need not greed' motivates people to work informally, according to new research The practice of people taking 'cash-in-hand' low-paid jobs or not declaring work while on benefits is being used as a last resort response to acute poverty or crises according to a new report funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. The report is informed by six years of work by Community Links, an innovative charity running community-based projects in east London. People in low-paid informal work: 'Need not greed' conveys the experiences of people who work informally to pay for food, heating or who face mounting debt. The report demonstrates how informal work is often a response to poverty and to times of crisis such as family breakdown. It shows how low benefit rates, low wages and rules which limit the hours some groups can work are the drivers for most informal work for those who took part in the study. In addition, the research highlights how childcare or health problems can act as barriers to formal work. People who took part in the study do want to work and have a wide range of under-used skills and abilities. However, participants felt there were more informal than formal opportunities for people like themselves with few skills and qualifications. Many felt working informally increased their confidence, skills and work experience; provided financial support and offered potential pathways into formal work. They also identified wider social benefits for families and communities. Participants also cited a complicated and inefficient tax and benefit system as one of the main reasons they resorted to informal low-paid work. Despite the introduction of measures such as tax credits, they felt the system often trapped them in a cycle of poverty with few financial incentives to work formally. In their opinion, punitive measures to tackle informal working were unlikely to work if poverty had forced them to work informally. The report also makes a range of policy recommendations. These include support, training and development for those who want to move into formal work; tax and benefit reform based on an understanding of why people work informally and employment flexibility to accommodate needs around childcare or health issues. Aaron Barbour, report author and Community Links' Research and Policy Development Manager said, "People in deprived areas are resorting to informal paid work because they are trying to support, feed and clothe their families. They are hard-working, ordinary people trying to survive day by day. The Government needs to understand and include the informal economy in all its strategies if it is to reach its employment, anti-poverty and regeneration targets. They should harness the assets of people working informally – their effort, skills and willingness to work – rather than seeing it as a problem." Several case studies featured in the report demonstrate how people felt they had no other option but to take on informal work, often with salaries well below the minimum wage. One father of a disabled child described how he carries out a mix of formal and informal work to keep some benefits, and how he needs additional money to cover care costs for his daughter. He cites the main reason for not declaring his informal work as fear of not being able to afford the high rent and council tax if these were not covered by benefits. He earns £6 an hour through his formal job but just £4 an hour for his informal work. Others taking part in the research felt they could not rely on inefficient bureaucratic systems which might leave them without money for extended periods. A lone parent with a medical condition said, "Some people out there think because you get these benefits you are comfortable; which is not the case. I still struggle to pay my bills. Finding informal work is a struggle for survival." Another lone parent felt under pressure from "loan sharks" who would not wait for her to find a formal job. A 30-year-old man said "informal paid work would be impossible to tackle," unless its underlying causes were confronted. http://www.jrf.org.uk/media-centre/need-not-greed-motivates-people-work-informally-according-new-research Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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