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James Chapman
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A childcare tax break worth £1,200 per child to working couples will be unveiled in this week’s Budget – despite claims it discriminates against stay-at-home mothers.
The Chancellor will press ahead with the measure – which is good news for large working families – amid warnings that the cost of childcare exceeds the monthly mortgage payment for many families.
It will mean that working couples will effectively not have to pay basic-rate tax on the first £6,000 they spend on nurseries, nannies or childminders.
The move will be welcomed by families as childcare costs are exceeding mortgage payments
But the scheme has been criticised by some supporters of traditional families because it is expected to apply to only households in which both parents are working, though those working as carers and on maternity or paternity pay can also claim.
Marie Peacock, of the pressure group Mothers at Home Matter, said: ‘We are very concerned about it.
‘At the moment single-earner families are already paying more tax. This further exacerbates their disadvantage. It’s going to be available to parents on joint incomes of up to £300,000.
‘How can it be right to help working couples on such high incomes with a tax break while penalising single-earner families on much less?’
Chancellor George Osborne will unveil details of the tax break for childcare in this week’s Budget
Other groups – including Church of England figures and the marriage Foundation – called for the Government to bring in more generous allowances for married couples instead.
The Government has been consulting on the details of the new childcare scheme, which is to replace the current workplace voucher system.
The voucher scheme depends on whether employers sign up to offer tax-free childcare vouchers, but only about 5 per cent do so.
The new scheme is due to start in autumn 2015 – though there is speculation it could be brought forward – and will be available to all working parents.
Shadow women and equalities minister Gloria De Piero claims the Tories are making life harder for new parents
Initially, those with children under five will benefit, but the Government plans to extend it up to the age of 12.
To
receive the full £1,200, the family must spend at least £6,000 on
childcare for each child. If they spend a smaller sum, they will receive
20p for every £1 spent.
Families will be eligible for the new childcare tax break as long as neither parent earns more than £150,000.
But while workplace vouchers can be
claimed by the working member of a one-earner couple, it is expected the
new tax break will apply only to families in which both parents work.
A government source insisted the new scheme was designed to support people to ‘go out to work if they want to and provide greater security for their family’.
Yesterday an alliance of MPs, family campaigners and a senior Church of England bishop warned that all married couples – not just those on the basic rate of tax – should benefit from a more generous allowance.
The Bishop of Chester, the Rt Rev Peter Forster, and John Glen MP, an aide to Cabinet minister Eric Pickles, are among those saying the allowance must be extended.
All married couples, regardless of income, should benefit, and the full personal allowance of £10,000 should be transferable, they say.
The group said the Government’s proposal was ‘very welcome’ but ‘falls a long way short of even creating a level playing field for those wanting to marry’.
A separate report from the Marriage Foundation called for married mothers with young children to be handed thousands of pounds a year to help combat the ‘epidemic’ of family breakdown.
The campaign group said couples who lived together faced a £7,100 penalty in the tax and benefits system compared to those which split up.
Gloria De Piero, shadow minister for women and equalities, said: ‘David Cameron and Nick Clegg should be focusing on supporting new parents, but instead mums are some of the hardest hit by the Tories’ cost-of-living crisis.’
Comments (74)
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JB Notts,
Nottingham,
38 minutes ago
If your a stay at home
Mum, you stay at home and be a mum! Unbelievable :-/
adras,
LONDON, United Kingdom,
38 minutes ago
Why is the STATE providing a subsidy to parents for childcare ?. Where is individual responsibility of parents to look after their children – the state provides ALL – child benefit; tax credits; help with childcare cost sure start maternity grant; free school meals; childcare grant; guardians allowance; parents learning allowance – I could go on and on…. Their so called ” hard working families” are being looked after by the state -thought we were trying to get away from this dependency culture ?
pingpong,
south east, United Kingdom,
39 minutes ago
Somethong for those of us without children would make a nice change
Great Scot 2013,
Scotland,
39 minutes ago
My wife is a stay at home mum but we put our child into nursery twice a week in the morning so he can socialise with other kids. It isn’t always black and white, why should we lose out?
GrannyB,
Poole,
40 minutes ago
WHY would a mum who is lucky enough to be able to be at home with her children want childcare. She or Dad are the best people in the world to raise their children. I have three daughters-in-law, two have to work and one is on maternity leave. All three would love to be at home but finances forces them to work. Stay-at-home mums should stop complaining and realise how very lucky they are to be able to be with their children.
Lmeaki,
Nottingham, United Kingdom,
40 minutes ago
I have three children, two with autism who are all at different schools and colleges but I still work part time and my husband works full time doing shifts. It is difficult to find jobs which are flexible enough for you to still drop off and collect your children from school and also be at home in the school holidays. However, I started working at my daughters primary school which fit in perfectly for me. Not all other mums are as lucky.
nat,
plymouth,
43 minutes ago
Why does a stay at home mother need to fork out for child care? I can’t have a child as I can’t afford one due to child care costs. I would live to stay at home, they should be grateful for what they have
sarahjohnson2,
portsmouth, United Kingdom,
43 minutes ago
I am fed up of all the stay home mums whinging you should count yourseld lucky you can afford to stay at home and not have to work.I know a few families where the father earns more than myself and my partner and the mum gets to stay at home.I donot have that benefit and have to work to support my family as a consequence between us we pay more in tax,this new scheme will not benefit us either so the we are better mummies than you lot working should get off their horse and stop moaning.
kmac,
hull,
43 minutes ago
If your a stay at home mum you don’t need help with child care so they are not missing out!!! My husband works full time, I work part time my mother looks after our child so we don’t benefit from it either which is fair enough!!
bluedays,
Scotland,
44 minutes ago
Sick of it.
My husband works extra hours over and above his job because he can earn more than me working part time.
The only problem is he gets taxed disproportionately because he is supporting his family. We don’t claim benefits, child care vouchers or get a council tax rebate. With four kids its very important that they get to see one of us when they are not at school or nursery as that time is divided by their siblings.
Why the stigma for wanting to bring up your own children.
If we divided the working hours to 20hrs each we would double our tax allowance we would get tax credits, council tax rebate and child care vouchers. Yet the stay at home mum ( or dad) gets associated with lazy and lifestyle choices but not tax acknowledgment.
Having a stay at home parent and a full time parent is actually less of a burden on society yet we get to pay for all the help double income families enjoy.
Totally unfair!
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Working couples" childcare tax break: Budget pledge of £1,200 per child but stay-at-home mums miss out again
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