Tax credits

Jane Millar

OAI: oai:purehost.bath.ac.uk:publications/27fc8627-311e-4da8-8d29-fe94173149bb • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1332/175982711X559145

Tax credits were introduced in 2003 as the main instrument to deliver the Labour government’s commitments to increase work incentives, to make work pay, and to reduce poverty levels among working families. This article uses a case study of one family over several years to explore and illustrate the experience of being in the tax credit system. The analysis highlights the importance of tax credits to family income, but also the negative impact of late and incorrect payments, payments that varied in inexplicable ways, reductions in awards for overpayments, and the lack of detailed information about awards.