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Free childcare would raise millions in tax on working mums, says thinktank Posted by Emma

From The Guardian
December 12, 2011

Free nursery care would raise millions of pounds for the government by enabling mothers to return to work, according to a report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). The thinktank says the increased tax revenues that would result would outstrip the cost of providing care for all pre-school children.

Many women, especially those on low to middle incomes, stop work after having children because of the high cost of childcare in the UK. In the 34 developed nations that make up the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development, a couple who are both earning average wages spend 12% of their income on childcare. However, in the UK that figure is 27%.

At just over 60%, the employment rate of women with children in the UK is much lower than in many other OECD countries – it ranks 19th behind countries such as Iceland, Sweden and Denmark, which tend to have affordable, high-quality childcare provision.

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