Today’s Budget provides a wonderful opportunity for the Government to give effect to their commitment to marriage, emphasised as recently as last week, by supporting marriage through the tax system.

Recognising the benefits which marriage has for society, a commitment to do this through the provision of a transferable allowance was included in the 2010 Conservative Party Manifesto and, later, in the Coalition Agreement. The Liberal Democrat proposal to raise the individual tax threshold to £10,000 was also included in the Coalition Agreement.

Whilst the implementation of the £10,000 tax allowance policy has begun, the promise to introduce a transferable allowance for married couples remains unfulfilled. In fact the process has not even been started.

CARE’s Pre-Budget Briefing makes plain that the decision to prioritise increasing the tax threshold over a transferable allowance for married couples does nothing to make Britain ‘the most family-friendly country in Europe’ as the Prime Minister intended.

The policy of raising the individual tax threshold to £10,000 primarily helps those in the top half of the income distribution, making our fiscal arrangements even more individualistic and less sensitive to family responsibility than is already the case. By contrast, the transferable allowance would primarily help those in the bottom half of the income distribution and ensure our fiscal arrangements are less individualistic and more sensitive to family responsibility.

Some figures from the taxation of families 2010/11 report, published by CARE last week:

– The tax burden in the UK on a one-earner married couple with two children is 52 per cent greater than the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) average – up from 39 per cent in 2009 (p.10).

– The figures are even worse for those on 75 per cent average wage who face a tax burden 85 per cent higher than the OECD average (p.10).

– In this context, it is no surprise that the tax burden on a one-earner married couple with two children on an average wage is 74.5 per cent of that placed on a single person on the same wage, whilst the comparable OECD figure is just 51.4 per cent (p.11).

So what now?

We cannot hope to fix Broken Britain when we give those families where one parent stays at home to look after the children such a rough ride.

Introducing a transferable allowance requires a budget resolution following the Budget. If the Government does not take action this year it is imperative that they do so following the 2013 Budget if they are to keep their promise of introducing transferable allowances within the current Parliament. Moreover, preparatory changes to IT infrastructure will be needed which could begin now.

Let’s wait and see what Mr Osborne has to say in a few hours time…