So we all pay more to claim more, thx for the prudence brown

dave, edinbugrh,

Expat pensioners DO NOT GET TAX-CREDITS NOR HEATING ALLOWANCE. Nor are many other people eligible because of your endless means-testing. Brown, let's see if you get this into your head once and for all. I thought that Marxism, Stalinism and Communism in general were dead.

Richard, Alicante, Spain

Perhaps Gordon Brown could pursuade the World's Central Bankers to re-define the word trillion to billion and billion to million. The BoE would then only needed to bail out the UK clearing banks to the tune of £50 million and Chancellor would only need to declare a budget shortfall for March of £10.2 million. His reputation for financial competance would be restored and the feel good factor would return.

Mike Clark, Llanfairfechan, Gwynedd

Mr Brown in no mood for concessions"-again steamrollered through without any regard or listening to anyone else, bit like the "immigrants are good for us" from a couple of weeks ago. News for you Mr Brown, Tony "teflon" Blair got away with everything because of his smile and personality-which is something you are lacking.

steve, coventry, uk

This is typical Labour, more tax and spend, whatever happened to "save and invest" that they promised. Now I'm going to be worse off because of this tax increase, but seeing as I am single and have no dependants this doesn't matter, I apparently don't exist or count in Browns "vision" of Britain. The sooner a general election comes the better. Remove Brown and the Labour party before its too late.

Matt, Beverley,

My wife and I are both retired but under age 65. Whilst working we managed to fund pensions now paying around £8,000 p.a. each, and also have some savings so don't need to rely on the state for support.

With the scrapping of the 10% tax band our tax has increased by £227 each,so the chancellor will be collecting a further £454 from our household this year.

Meanwhile, our neighbours who are in work and earning £30,000 are enjoying a benefit of £213 each, owing to the reduction in the basic tax rate from 22% to 20%, making their household £426 better off this year. I suspect I know where the chancellor found the money to fund this.

Ron Carruthers, NESTON,

can you imagine gordon brown making a u turn on the election that never was and then making a u turn on this? the mind boggles. he wouldnt last a month.
bring back tory blair - at least then the endless failures would at least have a sheen of semi conscionable articulation

R.Hobson, Chesterfield, Derbyshire

Yvette Cooper has driven me to fury on the News tonight. She cannot or will not accept that tax credits DO NOT APPLY to many low wage earners. The Government seem to be deliberately blind to low income people who do not get or want state benefits but don't deserve this kick in the teeth especially when we see their snouts in the trough. At least they are commiting political suicide and the sooner the better. GOOD RIDDANCE.

TONY PRICE, CREWE, ENGLAND

I am one of the many who are now worse off after the latest tax robbing changes. Gutsy Brown needs to open his eyes rather than his arrogant pathetic mouth and get in touch with the decent, moral, hard-working, law-abiding or retired people in this country. I don't want hand-outs or tax credits and I am not eligible. What I want is a fair tax system but Labour have their noses so far in the trough that will never happen. There has never been such an inept bunch of idiots in Parliament who have managed in spectacular fashion to wreck this once proud and great country. You will definitely have your place in history but for all the wrong reasons. You are an utter disgrace. We will now be suffering for years as a result of your mistakes. Roll on 1 May.

TJ, Gloucs, Britain

Yet another blow for the childless. Benefits handed out mean that employees earning £10,000pa gross with two children take home more pay than childless employees on twice that salary. So much for making work pay.
Take a look at at the tax tables at http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/pdfs/budget2008taxtables.pdf

Andy, Bath, UK

Mr Brown loves to serve, does he..... maybe the best way he could serve right now is to wave us all goodbye and retire. Just get us away from super-high socialist taxation and back to reality.

Norman, Cromer, Norfolk

As a woman under 25, with a husband under 25 (both of us work, we have no children) my household will be considerably worse off. We cannot claim any of the tax credits that apparently make up for the lost income due to age and lack of children. I'm sure we are not the only people in this country to be in these circumstances - but I guess the majority of law-abiding and self-supporting young people are invisible to the government.
The only ways that Mr Brown can honestly believe that nobody is worse off are either that he is innumerate or that he truly believes large sections of the population (pensioners, young people, single people with incomes that are average or below average, childless people on average or below average wages) are indeed not people.

Angela, Edinburgh,

Quote: "Mr Brown told GMTV that people were not taking into account the changes to tax credits".

In creating the Tax Credit system, Gordon Brown has introduced the poorest and most vulnerable in our society to the same taxation nightmare that was once the sole preserve of the small businessman.

Unlike small businessmen, the poor do not usually have the financial resources or business acumen to dig themselves out of the nightmare - it must be terrifying indeed.

Can you imagine what it must be like, when you barely have two pennies to rub together, to suddenly be faced with a demand for thousands of pounds ?

This is the true face of New Labour - incompetent and heartless - making life a living hell for those poor families that gave them their trust and voted them into power.

Brian Drury, London Colney, England

I should imagine that many people will find themselves worse off with the scrapping of the 10p tax rate. I myself will be one, as a disabled person I am unable to work the minium 16 hours a week to qualify for tax credits. I manage 10 to 12 hours part time work a week, which is allowed under permitted rules for incapacity benefit as I qualify for high rate DLA both components. Suffice to say, I'm not looking forward to my next tax bill, were what little I earn from my part time work and incapacity benefit is taxed at the new rate. I'll survive, but can imagine many worse off than myself who will struggle; Gordon Brown would make a good sheriff od Nottingham!

Keith, Belfast,

And to think this whole fiasco was started to enable Darling to stand up at Budget time and announce a "tax cut" from 22 to 20%. It beggars belief that between Brown (whom we are contionually reminded by the press, has a huge intellectual capacity and is a political genius) and Darling, they could not think of a fairer way to fund their headline grabbing reduction.

It just goes to show how bereft of inspiration and fresh ideas this government has become.

Edwin, Bucharest,

Two points are in my mind. 1) Any administration will inevitably reach the limit of its initiative after 10 years. 2) The Labour Party is manacled to an outdated class based ideology but has proven repeatedly incapable of implementing even its most commendable objectives.

From these points I conclude that some kind of limited term government would serve this country better. In addition, the Labour party should move into third place and the main political parties should be Conservative and Liberal Democrat. This would certainly remove from the Labour Party the necessity of stealing policies from the two other parties in pathetic attempts to please all the people all of the time.

Alan Wenman, Ruislip, Middlesex

Labour MP Frank Field admitted on BBC radio that many of his parties MPs and councillors are worried - as they know that they are virtually unemployable if they lose their seats. And these are the people who now control every aspect of our lives!

Brian Christley, Abergele , UK

Brown is history! Brown has crossed the watershed from being able to do no wrong, to being able to do no right. But it will take a massacre in the next General Election for Labour to be able to get shot of Brown. As for Brown's record on the economy, I never really understood why he was so lauded. He created the regulatory framework which helped create the housing/consumer boom and bust. Brown ramped up public spending and borrowing when the economy was growing anyway, leaving nothing in the Treasury's coffers for a rainy day. Brown's reputation is bust, along with the UK economy.

Richard, Worcester, England

If you actually call the phone number on the govt web site to order a claim pack for working tax credits you're told you've dialled the wrong number (after waiting about 10 mins) and you're given another number to ring, which unfortunately doesn't give you the option to hold for an operator (it just says they are experiencing a high volume of calls and cuts you off) but don't ask the operator who you first spoke to to why the phone number on the website is wrong because she'll just say "I'll pass that information on" which I'm sure she probably doesn't, my point being, that this seems to be yet another "scam" by NU Labour which seems to go unchecked, and to think I nearly believed that the fiasco with northern rock wasn't going to be paid for by the tax payer, especially after northern rock had been given a clean bill of health by the FSA only a couple of months before, by a man who is paid a huge amount of money (again, tax payers money) .

cc, liverpool, uk

Does Brown really belive what you purport he belives?
How out of touch can one be.
Why does he not ask the postman who delivers every day what they think back at the sorting office,because suprisingly, it is not a condition of employment that you have dependant children back at home.

robert everitt, wolverhampton,

With three low paid workers in my family we will be losing £90 a month or thereabouts. It is money we cannot afford and to know that this money is subsidising higher paid workers or the neverending child support for those who CHOOSE to have children is very hard to swallow. This has been a very bad decision and could not possibly be regarded as 'socialist'. For all three members of my family this increase in tax completely cancels out any pay increase received last year. We are all now back to 2006 wage levels. Thanks Mr Brown, in return we will be giving our vote to someone else. That's only fair.

judy, Liverpool, England

While I don't disagree with the poster from Switzerland that the UK tax system is now preposterously complex, there is a considerable difference between a system of taxation and government services that works for 7m people (the approx. populations of Switzerland, and residents of London) and that which can be made to work for 60m people in 3 nations within a state.

When you look at any system, you discover layers of historical complexity, social engineering and discontinuities. All I think you can reasonably say is that over the last ten years, the British tax system has become impractically complex with an excessive cost of collection and administration, and unintended (because surely they can't be intended) unfairnesses for the very poorest to the moderate benefit of people on middle incomes.

10 years is long enough, I think. This alone has to be a good enough reason to turf out the incumbents and let someone else have a go.

Matthew Adams, Cambridge, UK

Brown should sit on his ample back-side in Downing Street, and take care of the matters of concern to normal people: unwarranted increases in food, fuel, costs of running a home, council and other taxes. His Retail Price Index is a disgraceful con, with absolutely no semblance to reality. . He's a bigger fiddler than Mugabe: at least the latter held an election.

Terry Dell, Weybridge, UK

This amongst many anomalies typifies a nation that has lost its way. The sheer incompetence of this Government is driving many decent people to despair. I don’t know about Gordon Brown being depressed, but he certainly leading the UK into depression!!
The UK needs to balance its books quickly before it becomes an EU basket case. That means drastic cuts in the non-productive public sector – we could start by putting MPs and Civil Servants on a money purchase pension scheme.
.

Steve Marchant, Broadhempston, UK

I am 61 and receive a pension from my former employer of £12k. I cannot claim either working tax credit or child tax credit.
I calculated, when the changes were announced last year, that I will be around £100 worse off from April this yearvand have no way of making this up.
No, Mr Brown, you have got it wrong, again, and need to sort it out for a vast number of people who will be in a similar position to me, or, preferably, resign and take your 'government' with you.

Roger , Peterborough, Cambs.

If only Screaming Lord Sutch of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, were still alive. I am sure he would get in this time.

Bob, Warrington, Cheshire

Due to the abolition of the 10% tax band I am now paying considerably more tax. I work part time and have no dependant children, so I do not qualify for tax credits. I know of several people in a similar situation to me and we are all furious at how the government seems to be ignoring us. Also I have relatives who are single, childless, and in full time work earning approx 15K. They are worse off too, and I would think that there are many young people who fall into this category. It seems a very unfair policy to me.

Margaret, Lincolnshire,

Has anybody heard Gordon Brown or a minister actually articulate the thinking behind the abolition of the 10p rate. They can provide no logic in tune with true 'Labour' principles and have shot themselves in the foot. Of course the unsaid strategy is to move more voters onto reliance on benefits and thus hopefully beholden to Labour at election time under the apprehension that the Tories will be more liable to pare back the benefit system.

Gaston deDada, Leeds,

The Broon must go!

Aaron, Kilrea, UK

We are a couple with no dependant children .We have steady jobs and are proud to work in the public sector.He is NHS, she in DWP. Together we earn 26,000 pounds (full time wages). Qualify for no tax credits,housing benefit or Coucil tax benefits. I know .Ive tried. Im interested in the assertion that on-one will be worse off by this tax raise. I can only assume that the Prime Minister is either competely mad or a Liar. Either way. I -working class and proud of it-will never vote Labour again.

betty, hayes , uk

Gorden Brown Revisited (By The Nu-Labour Stranglers)
Sing-a-long! You all know the tune!

Gordon Brown, taxes the old,
Sold all the gold, so I am told
No more heating the homes to warm the old bones
Of pensioners who strive just to stay alive,
It seems they've lost favour, under Nu-Labour
While MPs have their snouts in the trough
But it's never enough-With Gordon Brown

Brian, Liverpool, England UK

Why does Gordon Brown keep saying that he has raised the personal allowances for pensioners ? He has done for the over 65's , BUT not for the younger women aged 60 -64 , who are still pensioners ! We are oap's too . Yes, Old And Penalised !
Why hasn't the media jumped on this ? Many of us are widows and living alone, and to be now paying not only tax on our STATE pension, but, noe double tax on it because of our far lower personal allowance.

sandra, gloucester, uk

First, Gordon, fire all the Cabinet. How dare they have a mind of their own? Next, do what you want with the paltry tax. Finally turn your considerable, much vaunted intellect to sorting out a few of this country's real problems, which don't need enumerating because you can read about them every day in the media. Like the economy, for example. But you'd best wait for Alastair to come back from China with a few revolutionary ideas.

john problem, winchester, uk

i live in switzerland - it varies frm kanton to kanton, but i enjoy low income taxes and one of the highest standards of living in th world. the prefered method of taxation is direct - if u dont use, dont pay - plus compulsory medical insurance (but u choose the level and the co)-- unemployment insurance (compulsory) capped according to income 80pct of a max Sfr10,500 (£4400) per month for 400 working days. Kantonal and Federal taxation. there are a raft of logical allowances to set against tax incl car, alimony payments, mortgage etc - the point is that it works..forget going to the USA to see their method come to CH -- unlike GB's cockeyed and mindblowingly convoluted and complicated system, its extremely simple AND requires only the lightest touch fm the central Govt. GB's govt seems to forget as do most UK Govts, that a) they work for us...and b) the money we earn is ours by right.. its not just there for the inland revenue to pillage and fritter on ill considered hand outs.

zugerman, zurich, switzerland

Mr.Brown said that nobody would lose out by the doubling of the lowest tax rate. He obviously believes that any single person with no children earning close to the minimum wage is a nobody. Nice one Mr. Brown, thanks tellings us what you think of us.

Peter, Brixham, Devon

Does this whole issue not point up the lack of clear thinking in this government?

They legislate and delay implementation in the hope that these changes will go through quietly and they can avoid criticism.

Do they not think through the complete effect their ill founded decisions will have?

Were these caring Labour rebels asleep when this change was enacted. It must have been the belated reaction of THEIR electorate that finally awoke them.

They certainly are an incompetent, self-serving and pretty useless bunch!!!

Peter b, Kirkcaldy, Scotland

Why are these people who have decided to live in France complaining about paying UK Tax, under the Double Tax agreement they could elect to pay tax in France?.The reason they do not is the taxation will be higher in France.Also they complain that they dont get assistance for carers etc in France.I have no sympathy as it was their own choice in the first place to leave the UK which has excellent social care compared with Europe,also if they had stayed in the UK they would have been entitled to a heating allowance of £500 and a free TV licence plus tax credits.When will people stop bad mouthing their mother country when after all they wanted to leave it in the first place.One of the problems is the grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence.

Bill Rees, Truro, Cornwall

Abolishing the 10% rate hurts the low paid, a group that would traditionally be thought of as Labour voters. Brown says this is counteracted by the increase in tax credits and other benefits. He knows it is best to keep the low paid on benefits as then they will be forced to vote for Labour in the future.

Tories believe that the best person to decide how to spend your money is you (or at least they used to - not sure what Dave believes). Therefore they would cut taxes and cut benefits. If you depend on benefits (tax credits or other schemes) would you vote for a party that will cut them?

Having large numbers of the population dependent on benefits means that Labour can continue to employ huge numbers of civil servants. Gordon is the master of creating complicated schemes so the government needs increasing numbers of bureaucrats to administer them. If you were a civil servant, dependant on Labour for the creation of your job, would you vote for the Tories? Guaranteed majorities.

Emerson, chester,

The Peter Brookes cartoon of Brown arriving here [notice I have not written home!] is very very apt, reflecting many peoples view.

Bob, Warrington, Cheshire

I am a pensioner and have a small private pension I get no pension credits or grants, My tax has increased under the new changes. Why doesn't Gordon Brown raise our pathetic tax starting rate to above £15000 and free all lower paid and pensioners from paying tax. It is criminal that the low paid and impoverished should be paying tax at all. Especially when MP's claim expenses at similar levels to our pensions.

Tony, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex

Unlike Brown many hard hit taxpayers think it's about time Africa started to look after itself and good share of aid money stayed at home.

Simon Marshland, Bath, UK

If Mr Brown should spent more time thinking about the impact on low wage earners than the time he spends dribbling on about Africa

Mike, Gravesend, England

He was imposed upon us! Nobody wants him to stay! As Chancellor he taxed the middle classes into poverty! Now he's doing the same as Prime Minister! Dour Broon, get out now!!
No wonder people like me are choosing to live abroad, we can't afford to live in our own country. GB is fast becoming the preferred global re-location hotspot for any and every immigrant and the feted and pampered single mother with 5 children soaking up whatever the latest set of "credits" are.
... and don't even mention the war.
A change is overdue.
ANY GOVERNMENT would be preferable to nu-Labour!

Ian H, Doha, Qatar

Thanks John from Finland. My husband and I have lived in France since 1990. he is now 91 years old, suffers from senile dementia and passes part of his time in a residential home since I cannot cope full time ( not young either!) We have small retirement incomes, have lost our right to vote in UK elections ( after 15 years abroad that's what happens) my husband's care costs around 2500 €s a month, I receive no carers' allowance, no winter fuel allowance,the terrible exchange rate of pound/euro is seriously cutting our small income and the loss of the 10p tax band will hit us badly. I seem to remember that someone said 'no taxation without representation' How are we going to be recompensed, Mr Brown? We both worked hard for all our lives in the UK ( in the public service) so cannot opt to pay tax in France where we would be more fairly treated, and my husband spent 15 years
in the British army. It's a good thing there are a few Labour MP's who still care about poor old people.

Mollie Mayes, Chancelade, France

So Mr Brown thinks that it is virtually impossible to say that people will lose out.
Ok then, play it his way. Monthly payslips are due to hit the doormat between 23rd - 25th April, 3 days before the Finance Bill second reading. I know that I will be £15.33 a month worse off and I do not qualify for tax credits.
If I am right, I think that Mr Brown should give me a job in the Treasury before he resigns for deliberately misleading MP's and the electorate.
If I am wrong he may just survive a revolt and I will eat my cricket box.

Geoff Lees, Watchet,

WHY ARE WE TAXED MORE - TO PAY £100 MILLION FOR MOSQUITO NETS TO AFRICA- Billions on Legal Aid to immigrants - £300 million a year to keep people on benefits - trillions wasted on stupid gov projects - Brown can always find the money for immigrants - benefits and housing -
Olympic games now costing billions more than costed - THE LIST GOES ON - Brown deserves everything he gets - Another terrorist in Bristol - how much has the police presence cost for another hell bent on destroying us?

Margaret, Bristol, UK

Why not just abolish all direct taxes on the individual?Let us keep the little we earn and let us decide how we might spend it.But,with socalist extremists like Brown,this cannot be permitted.Why?Well how else could they interfere in and have control over our lives.Money=power=freedom.But this kind of freedom must be restricted at all costs,hence the tax system which takes most of our income.Now we have the grotesque spectical of the very poorest being hammered for more of the very little they have.Just how low can this group of leftie,trendie idiots get?Brown thinks all income rightfully belongs to him and the state,and we should and are only given an allowance.Brown is out of touch and should call an election.

Norman, Notts,

Yes gary the Prime Minster is stupid. My only income is a private pension,this month I got an increase of £23 but because Brown in his wisdom removed the 10p tax band, the whole of it has gone to the government in tax. Tax credits are no good to me because I do not live in the U.K.

Pam, France

Pam Colledge, Chabanais, France

A hefty tax increase on the low paid is simply unfair. What surprises me is that, although Gordon Brown usually raises taxes by stealth, he didn't even bother this time. Presumably he thinks the low paid don't matter, and calculates that it won't hurt him at the ballot box.

Of course Brown won't admit his mistake and abandon the tax change because that will be embarrassing. Instead he will offer to create yet more benefit dependency. Doesn't he understand that it is far better for low earners to be self supporting and pay a little bit of tax (but not too much) than it is to claim benefits. It's simpler (so costs less), it gives low earners an interest in the responsible spending of taxpayers money, and it offers respect. Benefits diminish respect and breed dependency.

Ian, London,

Its not us that doesn't get the message Mr Brown its you, You assumed the job,fought no election,reneged on a manifesto promise and made the poor poorer. Please leave and call that election now if you win fine you get to make the rules until then you are an object of ridicule both here and abroad.

Mitch, Wolverhampton, England

Why try to blame the media Mr Brown? YOU, when you were Chancellor, are responsible for this fiasco.

It is all very well saying what you have done. How does that does help anyone who has been penalised and who does not qualify for any of the various credits, e.g. a single person, perhaps only earning the minimum wage, or someone, like me, who has retired early. I will be worse of by over £200 this year because of your decision.

You are said to be furious. Welcome to the club, except it is you and your Government that the majority of people are furious with.

How about scapping MPs expenses? That would go a huge way to eliminating child poverty. But that's not going to happen though is it?

Ian, Edinburgh,

The abolition of the 10p starting rate is to help bail the banks out of all their debts. New Labour: steal from the poor, give to the rich.

Paul, Coventry,

The doubling of the 10p tax band to 20p is for many an iniquitous imposition. They do not have access to tax credits and any other credit.

What Brown and his fellow bandits do not understand is that this is the final imposition and the general public have realised the tax impositions laid down by nu-Labour. The icreased stealth taxes and their is a general malaise with this government. People want a change of government. people want to have their lives returned from the nanny state.

The average familly have no money left; many now tbecause of the actual inflation they are living with; not some muddled figures which relate to cloud cuckoo land issued as the official rate of inflation.

Anybody on less than GBP30K a year with an average mortgage is out of pocket by the 3rd week of the month. Our overbearing,overpayed, overpriviliged elitists to have set themselves to govern over us have lost the plot; would not understand relative poverety from exces taxation. Labour go now.

M. Butcher, W-s-M, England

Low paid (without children) lose out - as do pensioners. Indeed it seems that those without dependent children are always treated as a blank cheque - getting pretty sick of it!!

All you ever hear is of more money being pumped into helping families and education. What about improving the efficient use of what is already being bled out of us. Labour's answer to any problem is always 'let's throw more money at any problem' (my money), to get over their incompetence at using it. They let social problems occur, then try and make political capital out of sorting them out.
They over-tax the poor, while the highly paid with a good accountant still can avoid reasonable tax liabilities, with trusts, dividends and such-like. They've have had 10 years+ to sort out this nonsense. Thatcher must be so proud of them.

David, Birmingham,

This stupid Prime Minister should realise that the British people dont want complicated credits just less tax. Nobody should pay ANY tax on the first £15000 they earn. You need that much to live. He has spent 10 years taxing us more and more while wasting the proceeds, he is a dead man walking.

gary, worcester, uk

Mr Brown
My wife and I are both 61. I took early retirement from HMRC and receive a pension. My wife is Finnish and receives an old age pension having worked in the UK for over 30 years and we decided to retire to Finland. We like all other Brits who have chosen to retire elsewhere in the eurozone will be hit by the 10p tax with no redress through incresed Child Tax credit (ha ha) or any other of the tax credits and do not qualify for the winter heating allowance as non-residents, so any increse is irrelevant. You have made a cishonourable change to the tax system and should be big enough to admit it.

john, myyrmaki, finland

Brown levitated beyond the common touch a long time ago. If he and his post-graduate, professional politico cohorts, especially that particularly despicable Balls, had any grasp of reality, they would see that anyone who works should not be taxed on their fist cerca £100pw, (personal allowance, via NHI), or on their next £30pw, (10% band), at any rate. What they should do is double the personal allowance, or even more, maybe even treble it. They could also put them on the John Lewis list. Fewer would then be driven into incompetent, demeaning government dependency, freeing an army of collectors and refunders from cost only, possibly contributive employment, to the benefit of us all. I am unaffected by this change, but have been there.

John Lee, Ellesmere Port SSR, UK

Brown levitated beyond the common touch a long time ago. If he and his post-graduate, professional politico cohorts, especially that particularly despicable Balls, had any grasp of reality, they would see that anyone who works should not be taxed on their fist cerca £100pw, (personal allowance, via NHI), or on their next £30pw, (10% band), at any rate. What they should do is double the personal allowance, or even more, maybe even treble it. They could also put them on the John Lewis list. Fewer would then be driven into incompetent, demeaning government dependency, freeing an army of collectors and refunders from cost only employment, into possibly contributive employment, to the benefit of us all. I am unaffected by this change, but have been there.

John Lee, Ellesmere Port SSR, UK

This sad, pathetic example of a man, let alone an alleged Prime Minister, gets all of 12 seconds on TV news channels and radio here in the USA and about 1/8th of a page, deep inside a newspaper - he is an irrelevance here - sadly, so is most of the UK.

He should quit asap.......and stop picking his nose on camera too.

Anthony Ravasel, Raleigh, USA

It seems clear to me that it is not a case of the general public misunderstanding, it is a simple case of Mr. Brown not getting it. Why should the general public have fill out all the tax credit forms and go cap in hand to the revenue to ask for money?

People will be worse off because they will not fill out the forms.

If Mr. Brown simply gave them the 10% tax rate via the PAYE scheme, everybody who needs it would get it and a layer of administrative cost would be removed from the tax credit system.

That would be "simplification" of the tax system. This move is an overly bureaucratic micro-managed Soviet style centralised paper-chase that Mr. Brown dreamt up while twiddling his thumbs waiting for Blair to depart.

Callum, Edinburgh,

Please do not pay mothers to sit at home to have babies, it only breeds more scroungers. We have far too many of them as it is. You want a kid? you pay for it.

sunita, Northwood, Middlesex

So "The Great Leader" says its virtually impossible to say anyone will lose out over the 10p tax reduction.Amazing - I am 62 - tetired on ill health gounds - don't qualify for tax credits of any sort - have a very sick wife - and am losing some £28 per month because of this tax change. Cannot our PM see that its the principle of the poorest of having to pay for the 22p tax reduction which is so wrong - in a sense its not even the amount. Charity Mr Brown begins at home.

Peter Buss, Canterbury,

Mr. Brown. LET ME SPELL IT OUT TO YOU!!!
I do not pay tax at 22% so the cut to 20% does not help me.
I cannot claim pension credit (which is not taxed) because my private pension puts me £2 over the cut off. (Private pension is taxed. )
State Pension £5148. Private Pension £1622 total £6770
Personal Tax Allowance £5435 Taxable income £1335
Tax 07/08 £135 Tax 08/09 £270.
I can do the math's .Why can't you? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

barbara, north east,