Niall Cooper, CAP National Coordinator, said: “It is immoral and wrong for the Government to increase taxes on the lowest paid, whilst those on much higher salaries benefit from the cut in the basic rate of tax. This is a Robin Hood policy in reverse – robbing from the poor to reward the rich.

“Church Action on Poverty calls on the Government to look again at this decision and to find ways to ensure that no one loses out. There is a moral obligation on Government to protect families who are already struggling to make ends meet – not to make life harder for them.”

The Institute of Fiscal Studies claims that the income tax changes announced in Gordon Brown’s last Budget, which took effect on 6 April, will leave around 5.3 million families earning between £5,400 and £18,500 a year worse off.