House of Commons

Session 2007-08 Publications on the internet Treasury Committee Publications

Treasury - Thirteenth Report Here you can browse the report together with the Proceedings of the Committee. The published report was ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 18 June 2008. CONTENTS Terms of Reference Summary 1  Introduction 2  The policy context The purpose of this chapter Introduction of the 10 pence rate of income tax The new tax credits system The Taylor report Working Families Tax Credit and Children's Tax Credit Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit Administrative problems and the 2005 reforms The starting rate of income tax, tax credits and marginal deduction rates Announcements in the 2007 Budget Overview The abolition of the starting rate of income tax for non-savings income Reduction of basic rate of income tax   Higher allowances for those aged 65 and over The 10% savings rate Changes to the higher rate threshold and Upper Earnings Limit Changes relating to tax credits and Child Benefit The debate on the 2007 Budget The 2007 Pre-Budget Report The 2008 Budget Developments since the 2008 Budget   3  The initial effects of abolition and related Budget measures The purpose of this chapter The measurement issues Overview Unit of measurement: individual versus household Unit of measurement: household versus family Defining a losing 'unit' Why units of measurement are important Those who benefit or are not adversely affected The losers The overall number of losers Losers in terms of amounts lost Those between 60 and 64 Those who retired early People on incapacity benefit Those economically active and not eligible for Working Tax Credit Those eligible for Working Tax Credit The losers and low-income households Understanding the impact of abolition Conclusions 4  Options and decisions relating to the current tax year The purpose of this chapter Payments to pensioners and others Options relating to Working Tax Credits Options relating to National Minimum Wage Options through the tax system Overview Reinstating the 10 pence rate of income tax A tax rebate or substitution programme Changes to allowances The decision announced on 13 May Overview Implementation Those who still lose The impact on other basic rate taxpayers The impact on higher rate taxpaying The impact on alignment of tax and National Insurance Conclusions 5  The broader context The purpose of this chapter The fiscal context Overview Spending prospects and the AME margin The fiscal implications of the decision of 13 May Conclusions The Government's overall approach to tackling poverty Child poverty Background Progress against the child poverty targets Meeting the 2010 target Methods of tackling child poverty Pensioner poverty Fuel poverty Background Prospects for meeting the 2010 target   Social tariffs and energy prices In-work poverty and making work pay Overview In-work poverty among those with dependent children In-work poverty among those without dependent children Marginal deduction rates Conclusions 6  Lessons for budgetary processes The purpose of this chapter Information available to Ministers Transparency and the provision of information to others Budget decision-making and the role of the Pre-Budget Report The role of scrutiny 7  The way forward The purpose of this chapter The National Minimum Wage Reforming tax credits The overall reach of tax credits Child Tax Credit Recovering overpayments Advice to claimants The case for reforms of Working Tax Credit Take-up of Working Tax Credit Increasing payments Hours worked Carers and the 30 hour rule The 16 hour rule and mini-jobs Age eligibility Earnings eligibility and the taper Interaction with Pension Credit Interaction with other benefits Conclusions The benefits system Interaction with the tax credit system Take-up Administrative problems arising from involvement of different agencies Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit The child benefit disregard Conclusions Income tax: rates and allowances Overall approach Extending the 13 May changes beyond tax year 2008-09 Tapering allowances at the basic rate A tapered starting rate Higher allowances for those aged 60 to 64 Conclusions Conclusions and recommendations Formal Minutes Witnesses List of written evidence List of unprinted evidence List of Reports from the Treasury Committee during the current Parliament Oral and Written Evidence Wednesday 21 May 2008 Wednesday 4 June 2008 Written Evidence

© Parliamentary copyright 2008	Prepared 28 June 2008