Britain proposes limiting tax credits to two children

British lawmakers want to limit child tax credits to a woman’s first two children, according to a new budget presented by the majority Conservative Party in early July.

The restriction, a small part of a larger Conservative agenda to reform welfare and raise the minimum wage, sparked vehement pushback and criticism from the opposition Labour Party, social commentators, and pro-family organizations in both Britain and the United States.

Critics argue the two-child limit, which would take effect in 2017, would be a financial hit to hard-working families and send the message that the third or fourth child in a family is a societal disadvantage.

“That’s dead wrong,” said Rob Schwarzwalder, senior vice president for the Family Research Council, arguing studies continue to demonstrate the family is the greatest economic generator. “Limiting the child tax credit, whether in the United States or Britain, disincentivizes child bearing and child rearing. Many families are having a difficult time making ends meet. … Rather than discouraging family formation and child rearing, government policy should be encouraging it.”

Britain’s child tax credit is a welfare benefit for the poorest families. Chancellor George Osborne, in a BBC radio interview pushing the new budget, told listeners the presented budget says to people “you get a bigger pay check but there will be a less generous benefit system.” He argued the current welfare system is unsustainable and needs to be cut back. Reducing child tax credits, up to £2,780 per child for Britain’s lowest tax bracket, limits the payout. But the minority Labour Party argues the polices are in the wrong order—cutting welfare benefits before raising wages—and the proposal will lead to job loss and be a net deficit to working families.

Additional backlash came when Allison Thewliss, a Member of Parliament from the Scottish National Party, took to Twitter to share her disgust with a small clause noting exemptions to the two-child limit. One exemption allows families to get credit for more than two children if a child is conceived by rape and the woman can prove it. Thewliss asked how women were supposed to prove rape, especially in cases where the perpetrator is not convicted.

“We think the policy on limiting tax credits is appalling anyway, and tantamount to social engineering, but putting a woman who has been raped—and her child—in that position is shocking,” Thewliss told The Guardian.

Schwarzwalder said the larger issue is whether the government wants to be in the business of micromanaging family tax policy.

“The tax credit is a way of saying ‘we think kids have value and we think families that raise them deserve a break,’” he said. But Britain’s proposed budget sends a message that more than two children per family is frowned upon. “That’s a terrible message for government to send to citizens,” Schwarzwalder said.

No U.S. lawmakers have made similar recommendations, but the Population Institute of Canada is lobbying for lawmakers there to end tax credits for families with more than two children.