Child Poverty Bill
12:00 pm
Steve Webb (Northavon, Liberal Democrat)
I have just one other question. One of your arguments for your scheme is that it is much simpler than what currently goes on, and you argue that you take the Inland Revenue out of the assessment process. You also propose delivering the benefits that you have invented through the pay packet, through a tax code-type thing. A big problem with tax and benefit reform is that you have benefits based on households and taxes based on individuals. If you have a couple where both partners are working and one gets the household’s tax credits, how would you keep tabs on both partners? If I were the higher earner, my spouse’s tax credits would have to be cut through their pay packet. How would the administration of that work?