links for 2010-10-06

• The Institute For Fiscal Studies – Child benefit withdrawal will mean some worse off after a pay rise
  "The Government might argue that using the income tax system to means-test child benefit is cheaper for it to administer than devising a brand-new means-test, and can be done more quickly. But there is already a system of means-testing support for families with children through the tax credit system, and the Government could have straightforwardly reduced spending on child benefit by combining it with the child tax credit in some way. Using the means-test in tax credits could be considered fairer to single earner couples, and would not distort incentives so dramatically."
  (tags: benefits cuts coalition ifs thinktanks)
• 'Big society' meetings cancelled over cuts anger
  (tags: bigsociety guardian)
• David Cameron 'sorry' child benefit cut was not in Tory manifesto
  Tories apparently thinking of redistributing some of the loss through a married tax allowance, which (a) doesn't equate to the loss of CB for higher-rate tax payers, (b) costs the same as the Child Benefit move would save, and (c) would also cover childless couples. Very, very odd indeed.
  (tags: benefits family davidcameron coalition cuts)

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