Quote:
Originally Posted by RichardCoulter
Aye, it's just semantics.
Thousands upon thousands have died as a result of these changes, yet this is the only thing he has to say.
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It isn’t just semantics.
A tax is something that is levied on income. A benefit is something paid out of treasury funds to those meeting certain criteria. The criteria for payment of housing benefit was changed. What is under discussion here is a reduction in state benefit, not a tax on income.
Discussing this in terms of politically loaded sound-bites (which is precisely what the term “bedroom tax” is) is itself disrespectful to those who have suffered as a result of losing benefits, because it is manipulative and dishonest. People who suffer due to lost benefits deserve to have their situations examined faithfully, not co-opted for the political advantage of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition.