Petition Child Benefit, A Prudent Case For Radical Expansion

CHILD BENEFIT IS THE SAME AS A TAX ALLOWANCE in that if you up tax allowances by £100 then you are giving people £20 each, BUT IS MUCH BETTER IN ACHIEVING GOOD SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC OUTCOMES:

Child benefit means less net tax is taken from us at the time of life we are having children (if we do) and more when we are not

Child benefit goes to the main care giver in the family, which often matters a lot

Overall, child benefit reduces the huge discrepancy in income between women and men

Child benefit, unlike tax allowances, goes also to those who earn less than the lower tax threshold

Lower tax thresholds to fund higher child benefit are good in they get more people paying tax but reduce child poverty

It means less means tested support, and weakens the poverty trap

We call upon Parliament to move towards a policy of increased child benefit rather than tax allowances for whatever overall level of tax allowance and benefit resource they deem affordable at a given time