Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of people who were not contacted directly about the introduction of the high income child benefit charge in 2012.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) wrote to around 800,000 families affected by the introduction of the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) in the autumn of 2012, covering the majority of those affected. HMRC also wrote to two million PAYE-only higher rate taxpayers in the summer of 2013 and included a reminder about the need to register for Self Assessment to declare Child Benefit payments. This ensured that as many affected families as possible were aware of what they needed to do in relation to the charge.