Over a million families paid wrong tax credit

7.30.50pm GMT Thu 31st Jan 2008

Many families tax credits are wrongly calculated.

Over a million and a half families have been paid the wrong amount in tax credits at least twice according to new figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats.

The figures from the three years in which tax credit awards have been finalised by the Government show that 22% of all families claiming tax credits have been overpaid or underpaid more than once, that 1.4 million families were overpaid more than once and 260,000 of those have been overpaid every year (three consecutive years) and that 340,000 have been underpaid more than once and 28,000 of those have been underpaid three years running.

Danny Alexander, Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions said "These figures are an absolute disgrace and reveal the depth of incompetence at the Treasury and the mess Gordon Brown left behind. These families deserve better. It is difficult enough to make ends meet without paying for the Government's mistakes."