Families are 'economic enemy' - British politician

The leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party said bringing in a marriage tax break would “allow people to make informed and compassionate lifestyle choices about how they bring up their children at home”.

The news comes after George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, was accused of “patronising” stay-at-home mothers after saying that they had made a “lifestyle choice” and should not receive childcare vouchers.

In a Commentary for Telegraph.co.uk, Mr Farage said that the Government’s “nonsensical” policy was to target traditional families, where one adult goes to work and the other stays at home to look after the children.

He said: “Nonsensical Government policy seems to suggest that the real economic enemy to the Coalition isn't the failure to cut red tape and empower small and medium sized businesses, but seems to be the concept of the traditional family, where one parent (of whatever gender - after all over a million households now have the woman as the main bread winner) goes out to work while the other brings up the children.”

Mr Farage said that couples in a marriage should be allowed to swap tax allowances between each other. He said: “Child benefit is available to those earning up to £60,000 a year, where those with two incomes can earn up to £100,000.

“It ditched the eminently sensible suggestion, and long term Ukip policy, that tax allowances should be transferable to those in a legally constituted relationship.

“As a result, it penalises those who are married with only one earner to the tune of up to and over £10,000 per year. If we want to help people, particularly those on lower incomes, we should set the basic tax allowance at the minimum wage, and allow it to be transferred.

“That way we could allow people to make informed and compassionate lifestyle choices about how they bring up their children at home, without suffering a massive financial hit for having the temerity to choose.

“Nobody in dual income households would lose out, but we would be building a happier and stronger society if we did.”

Mr Osborne last month committed to announcing the details of a transferable tax allowance for married couples in the Autumn statement in November.

He said: “I am absolutely committed to introducing it, the Government is committed to introducing it and I think you can expect to see it in the Autumn Statement.”

A senior Government source has briefed The Telegraph that the most likely date for its introduction is April 2015, which would be in the middle of the next general election campaign.

Telegraph