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| Child benefit cuts lead thousands of parents to 'opt out' | Child benefit cuts lead thousands of parents to 'opt out' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Some 200,000 parents have already opted out of receiving child benefit, ahead of changes coming into force on Monday. | Some 200,000 parents have already opted out of receiving child benefit, ahead of changes coming into force on Monday. |
| Treasury Minister David Gauke said that was "slightly above" what was expected. | Treasury Minister David Gauke said that was "slightly above" what was expected. |
| Families with one parent earning more than £50,000 will lose part of the benefit. It will be fully withdrawn for those earning above £60,000. | Families with one parent earning more than £50,000 will lose part of the benefit. It will be fully withdrawn for those earning above £60,000. |
| But unless they actively opt out of receiving it by the end of Sunday, those parents will still get the money and pay it back through income tax. | But unless they actively opt out of receiving it by the end of Sunday, those parents will still get the money and pay it back through income tax. |
| Critics say the change will mean many thousands more people will end up having to fill in self-assessment tax returns. | Critics say the change will mean many thousands more people will end up having to fill in self-assessment tax returns. |
| On Friday, leading think tank, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), warned the policy created "administrative complexities" and could cause "incoherence in the welfare system". | |
| Speaking on Five Live, Mr Gauke defended the changes, insisting the part of the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) website which explains the changes had had around 1.2 million visitors. | |
| He said: "Something like 200,000 people have opted out, which is slightly above what we'd expected at this stage so there does seem to be quite a lot of awareness about it." | |
| HMRC chief executive Lin Homer agreed the transition was going "smoothly" and officials had written to some 800,000 of the estimated 1.2 million people who will be affected by the changes. | |
| She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme HMRC had been "proactive" and was already "well ahead of where we expected to be at this point". | |
| "Because it has worked better than expected, the administration charge of implementing this change we think is only going to be 50% of what we expected," she added. | |
| Child benefit is currently paid at the rate of £20.30 a week for the first child, and then £13.40 a week for each child after that. | Child benefit is currently paid at the rate of £20.30 a week for the first child, and then £13.40 a week for each child after that. |
| It lasts until each child reaches 16, or 18 if they are still in full-time education, and in some cases until they are 20. | It lasts until each child reaches 16, or 18 if they are still in full-time education, and in some cases until they are 20. |
| Under the new system, families where one parent earns between £50,000 and £60,000 will see their benefit progressively reduced based on income, and households where one person earns more than £60,000 will lose the benefit altogether. | |
| Are you a parent? Have you chosen to opt out of receiving child benefit? Send us your comments using the form below. |