I don't particularly want to get involved in the row about whether the UK appreciates 'stay at home' mothers or not. But I'm not sure I can entirely accept the fury coming from the 'stay at home' mothers'lobby about the utter unfairness of working parents getting a tiny tax-break on their childcare.
It seems to me that if you don't pay income tax, you don't much need a tax-break. And if you've made a decision to stay at home and look after your children, why would you want a tax-break that helped you pay someone else to do it? I'd also add that being a 'stay at home' parent is hardly a subsidy-free zone.
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