Cllr Mike Cox hits out at Government's disgraceful tax credit record

5.03.40pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 28th May 2007

Local Liberal Democrat campaigner Cllr Mike Cox has hit out at the government's disgraceful tax credit record after the government published records showing they overpaid £5.9m of tax credits in 2005-6 to residents of Hillingdon and wrongly paid out over £9 billion across the country over 3 years.

At the same time they failed to pay over 3,300 Hillingdon families the tax credit awards they were entitled to. This amounted to a massive underpayment of £2.4 million.

Local Lib Dem campaigner Mike Cox, said,

"The government's record on tax credits here in Hillingdon is a disgrace. Gordon Brown has presided over a tax credits fiasco that is of his own making.

"Not only have taxpayers in Hillingdon lost out, but the government is now trying to claw back money from people on very low incomes - even when it was government mistakes which led to the errors.

"The government has overpaid residents of Hillingdon £5.9 million, and underpaid others £2.4 million.

"The government's shambolic tax credit system leads to uncertainty for many families in Hillingdon as they have no way of knowing what they will receive. I am campaigning for a simple system of fixed term awards of six months so that families know what they are getting and get what they are entitled to."