In just a few weeks’ time, changes to tax credit rules mean that many low-income couples with children will have to find more hours’ work, or face losing a staggering £3,870 per year in tax credits.
The Government doesn’t seem to realise that it is really difficult to find extra hours of work, or alternative jobs at the moment because there are just no jobs and many employers are cutting hours.
The Government is punishing families who are trying to do the right thing and going out to work. It is taking nearly £4,000 from them, which is an enormous amount for anyone to lose, and will mean families struggling to afford the basics. It is unbelievable that the Government plan to do this to low-income families at the same time as considering abolishing the 50p rate of tax to help people earning over £150,000!
The Government’s own figures show that after 6 April many of these families would be better off on benefits than in work, which is madness, so that’s why I am calling on the Government to abandon this change, for the sake of all the families involved.