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LITRG calls for rise in High Income Child Benefit Charge threshold

The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG) has urged the government to raise the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) threshold to avoid it affecting basic-rate taxpayers for the first time in April.

The LITRG stated that this goes against the original policy intent, and is ‘likely to cause the government additional difficulties in raising awareness about the charge among those who do not consider themselves on a high income’.

Tom Henderson, Technical Officer at the LITRG, said: “When the High Income Child Benefit Charge was announced in 2010, the government’s policy intent was that it would only affect higher-rate taxpayers from January 2013. For the 2012/13 tax year, the higher-rate threshold the point at which an individual is liable to the higher rate of tax was £42,475. Since then, the higher-rate threshold has risen broadly in line with inflation but the £50,000 threshold for the HICBC has remained static.

The government has so far resisted calls to up-rate the £50,000 threshold, but this is no longer tenable now the higher-rate threshold will overtake it from 6 April 2021.”

In its Budget submission, the LITRG calls for the point at which child benefit is fully clawed back to increase from £60,000 to £75,000.

The government will present the 2021 Budget on Wednesday 3 March.

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