Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of reforming the high income child benefit charge so that household income is taken into account.

The High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) is calculated on an individual rather than a household basis, in line with other tax policy.

Basing the HICBC on household income would mean finding out the incomes and relationships of individuals in all of the 7.7m households currently registered for Child Benefit

The Government considers that the current approach remains proportionate, as it only requires a proportion of individuals to complete a Self Assessment tax return, whilst leaving the majority of claimants unaffected. As with all elements of tax policy, the Government will keep this under review.