§ Caroline FlintTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the annual cost would be of extending the Working Families Tax Credit to couples without children; [4914]
(2) what the annual cost would be of extending the Working Families Tax Credit to couples without children were the minimum income for a couple set at (a) £200 per week and (b) £225 per week. [4906]
§ Dawn PrimaroloThe cost of extending the Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC) to couples with no dependent children, assuming the same structure of support, is estimated at about £½billion per year in the steady state. This estimate is based on household survey data, and takes no account of behavioural changes generated by such an extension.
The net earnings plus WFTC of such a couple with an employee working 35 hours per week at £4.10 per hour would then be £180 per week. The cost of increasing this to £200 or £225 per week would depend on the combination of changes made to the tax credits in WFTC as well as the impact of these changes.