Proposals to Tackle Tax Credit 'Shambles' Welcomed

10.00.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 18th Sep 2007

The Liberal Democrats have passed a raft of proposals at their Autumn Conference in Brighton designed to reduced poverty and create greater opportunity. The policies passed included action to reform the tax credit system which as led to over 3,300 families in Northampton not getting the tax credit awards they were entitled to.

"The government's record on tax credits here in Northampton is a disgrace. Gordon Brown has presided over a tax credits fiasco that is of his own making." said Lib Dem campaigner Andrew Simpson.

"Labour keep saying how wonderful the new tax credits system is yet in some cases it has actually increased hardship and poverty rather than tackle it. The Governments' own records showed they overpaid £5.8 million of tax credits in three years to residents of Northampton and wrongly paid out over £9 billion across the country.

At the same time they failed to pay over 3,300 families in Northampton the tax credit awards they were entitled to. This amounted to a massive underpayment of £2.1 million."

Included within the Lib Dems new policy towards tackling poverty and inequality is a commitment to:

• Better target tax credits to those on low incomes by increasing the taper rate

• Stopping penalising couples through the tax credit system

• Returning to six-monthly stable awards

• Simplifying the awards notice

• Reversing the burden of proof in cases of overpayment, and introducing a right of appeal to an independent tribunal.