Richard Curtis looks at the high-income child benefit charge, which continues to cause confusion.
Since its introduction in 2013, the high-income child benefit charge (HICBC) has caused confusion – not least as to whether it was a tax.
Further difficulties arose because the disparity between the benefits system tends to be based on households, whereas the tax system focuses on individuals. The result is that numerous cases of non-disclosure by taxpayers of their liability to the HICBC have come before the tax tribunal and two recent cases illustrate this; but first, a reminder of the charge itself.
The charge
The HICBC was introduced in January 2013 and, in effect, claws back some or all the child benefit received by individuals (or their partners) if their income exceeds a specific threshold. In this context, 'partners' are either married or
