I HAVE just received my new Income Tax code for the coming fiscal year. Due to the abolition of the Married Couples Allowance, I will pay around an extra £19 per month tax.

My daughter is 16 and currently studying for her A-levels. My son is 18 and would be at university, but for taking a year out to save-up in order to help finance his return to education next year. While on this subject, the Labour Government's policy regarding student education funding is another very sore point.

However, the new Children's Tax Credit, which doesn't come in until 2001 for children up to the age of 15 and which is supposed to compensate, is totally inadequate. Therefore the Labour Government is penalising many thousands of families like mine.

This policy should be reviewed for our sake as well as that of the Labour Party.

COLIN DICKINSON,

Hunstanton Drive,

Brandlesholme,

Bury.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.