Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Child Benefit – 9 December 1987

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Child Benefit on 9th December 1987.

Mr. Frank Field To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will examine the possibility of reclassifying as a child tax relief that part of child benefit received by families who pay more in income tax than they receive in child benefit.

Mr. Major No. Payments made by the Government are usually treated as public expenditure rather than negative taxation unless the payments are an integral part of the tax system. The definition of public expenditure used in the public expenditure White Paper follows in the main national accounting conventions which in turn follow international guidelines.