Hemming HITS OUT AT GOVERNMENT'S DISGRACEFUL TAX CREDIT RECORD

5.58.13pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 23rd May 2007

Local Liberal Democrat John Hemming has hit out at the government's disgraceful tax credit record after the government published records showing they overpaid £30m of tax credits last year to residents of Birmingham and wrongly paid out over £9 billion across the country.

At the same time they failed to pay over 18,000 families the tax credit awards they were entitled to. This amounted to a massive underpayment of £18,400.

Local Lib Dem MP John Hemming, said,

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

"Not only have taxpayers in Birmingham 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's shambolic tax credit system leads to uncertainty for many families in Birmingham as they have no way of knowing what they will receive."