Help for the Self-Employed

Hmmm.

Self-employed workers should get more support in running their businesses, says a review commissioned by the government from a leading entrepreneur.

The review, led by businesswoman Julie Deane, is calling for them to have similar rights to company employees, such as enhanced maternity privileges.

Having been self-employed for most of my working life, the last thing I want is for the government to help. What I want is for it to keep out of my life and take less of my income in tax. That’s about it, really.

In particular, the report called on the government to consider increasing the maternity allowance paid to self-employed people for the first six weeks, bringing it into line with the statutory maternity pay that employees receive.

“As is the case with Statutory Maternity Pay, the remaining 33 weeks would be paid at the lower of the statutory flat rate or 90% of earnings,” it said.

It also called for a new Adoption Allowance for self-employed people who adopt children, on the same basis as the existing statutory adoption pay for employees.

“The support provided by government to those starting or extending a family should be consistent whether the beneficiary is employed or self-employed,” the report said.

And how will this be paid for? Oh, yeah, silly me… By bunging up my tax bill.

Fuck off already.

9 Comments

  1. The most terrifying words in the English language are “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”
    Ronald Reagan

  2. Hang on – aren’t the self-employed supposed to be sorting out their own finances – their own pensions for example, out of their earnings? Why not gaps in their non-employment by choosing to have a child?

    If anything, this points to how the government could spend less of my money by removing the 6 weeks increased maternity non-self-employed mothers get? (Lets not get onto the whole maternity/paternity paid-leave to begin with…)

    After all, since I didn’t get a say in her choice of getting pregnant to begin with, shouldn’t I have a say in how much of my money she gets for being pregnant? It’s bad enough I have to contribute to her crotchfruit’s medical and educational costs for the next 24 years, and for paying her while she’s not at work raising it…

    Oh – and the child benefit. What happened to not having your own kids until *you* can afford it instead of getting everyone else to pay for it?

    Particularly egregious example, but by no means uncommon: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2094897/15-Kids-Counting-Single-mother-14-Joanne-Watson-slams-critics-brand-scrounger.html

    • Hang on – aren’t the self-employed supposed to be sorting out their own finances – their own pensions for example, out of their earnings?

      This is the flipside of the independence that the self-employed enjoy. It’s precisely what I do – and I don’t invest in a pension, as this is an egregious waste of my money. I do have some small pots from when I was employed. Worth a pittance.

      • By “pension” I mean “the money upon which you will be dependent upon when ‘retiring’.” Whether it be a personal pension fund, some buy-to-lets, some ISA savings or merely cash savings – *that’s* what I mean by ‘pension.’

        I’m under no illusion that when I retire I shall be self-funding until my state retirement age (which at current policy standards will be 17 years after I intend to retire.)

        Whether there will actually *be* a state pension when I reach “state pension age) at 67 or 68, I’m doubtful. Or at least a non-means-tested one…

        For clarity – I’m employed, not self-employed.

  3. “Oh – and the child benefit. What happened to not having your own kids until *you* can afford it instead of getting everyone else to pay for it?”

    As I am not self employed, the government helps itself to half of my income, so I regarded child benefit as a kind of tax rebate. I’m still on your side though, it would be so much better if the government didn’t steal my money in the first place, before kindly offering to let me have a little of it back. I only had one sprog and I would have been perfectly happy to take full responsibility and raise her at my own expense.

    • Are you one of the Four Yorkshiremen, Stonyground? Well of course I had it tough, I wasn’t self-employed. Does the government make you get out of your shoebox at midnight and lick road clean wit’ tongue.

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