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Finance Bill

I could not be less popular with the Chancellor, as my hon. Friend points out. I tabled a parliamentary question on the level of take-up of working tax credit that the Treasury anticipated over the next few years, to which I received the answer that the Government do not make forward projections for take-up rates. Therefore, the Chancellor has used two arguments, neither of which holds water. It appears that the changes in income tax announced in the Budget will result in 5.3 million households losing out. If the Chief Secretary would like to dispute those figures, I would be grateful to hear that and to understand the argument. However, this is a substantial change. At a time when the economy is doing well, 5.3 million households will lose out, and those households are generally the poorest, not the richest.