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<p>The Government introduced the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) from January
2013 to ensure that support for families is targeted at those who need it most. The
tax charge applies to anyone with an individual income over £50,000 who claims Child
Benefit, or whose partner claims it.</p><p> </p><p>HICBC is calculated on an individual
rather than a household basis, in line with other income tax policy. Basing HICBC
on household incomes would mean finding out the incomes of everyone in each of the
7.8 million households currently registered for Child Benefit. This would effectively
introduce a new means test, which would be costly to administer and create burdens
on the majority of families who receive Child Benefit.</p><p> </p><p>The Government
has no current plans to review HICBC but as with all elements of tax policy, keeps
this under review as part of the annual Budget process.</p>
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