Goblin King's golden hello

The email-o-sphere is bristling with rumours that Eastern Europeans are claiming child benefit and tax credits and sending the money back home.

This is old news, an email on this from a HM Revenue & Customs officer did the rounds a year ago*.

Basically, tax credits are based on the lower of this year's and last year's earnings, as most Eastern Europeans have annual wages lower than the income disregard (equal to the tax-free personal allowance) they automatically get full-whack tax credits for the first year, which is about £8,000 for a bloke that comes over here for a year and leaves wife and two kids at home in Poland or wherever. Which is about double the average earnings in Eastern Europe, or the 'A8' countries as they are called in Newspeak.

Which sounds a recipe for chaos to me. Oh yes, that's what we've got.

*If anybody would like me to forward it, please send an email to ... gmwadsworth-at-gmail.com.