British families suffer from wealth redistribution… again!
One of last year’s biggest governmental failures in the UK was the widespread misery caused by the poorly-managed Tax Credits system. In 2005, the system was branded a "nightmare" by the chairman of the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee, having caused misery to 1.8 million families that were routinely overpaid during 2003-2004 and then ordered to repay the money. That figure represents almost a third of the 5.7 million families claiming the benefit at that time, and with the total overpayment standing at £2.2 billion, it left the average overpaid family with a repayment bill of over £1200.
A government wouldn’t make such a gross error again, would it? Surely it would take great steps to avoid causing such worry to the people it’s supposed to serve? You all know the answer to that. Today it emerged that the total level of overpayment for 2004-2005 has remained constant at £2.2 billion. EDS, the company responsible for the faulty computer system has offered just £70 million in compensation, and £26.5 million of that won’t be paid unless they win more government contracts. The rest of the burden will fall upon the shoulders of - you guessed it - the taxpayer.
Problem is, if these people are already receiving benefits due to their low income, perhaps it’s just a little unreasonable to demand the money be repaid? It’s absolutely ridiculous that they be penalised so heavily for mistakes that they aren’t responsible for, made by a system designed to help them. Of course, it could be suggested that if these people didn’t have to pay so much in VAT, income tax and council tax, they might just be able to do without the interfering redistribution system in the first place.
