The Spectator

Tax breaks for families Sir: Hugo Rifkind is wrong to imply (6 July) that the current income tax system is indifferent to family structure, and thus the Conservative party’s attempt to give tax breaks to married couples is ‘a blatant attempt at social engineering’. Is it not social engineering when the current system demands more tax from a single-earner family than a dual-earner family, even if the total income is the same? Milton Friedman once said: ‘We tend to talk about an individualist society, but it really isn’t, it’s a family society.’ Hugo makes the mistake of seeing society as a collection of individuals, but in the real world most important financial decisions are taken by families or households.

Family games Andy Murray said that as a child he lived in the shadow of his elder brother Jamie, who was then thought the better tennis player. Some other sporting brothers: — As a teenager Wayne Lineker was thought to be more talented than his elder brother Gary. While Gary went on to captain England, and score 48 goals for the national team, Wayne dropped out of football and opened several bars in Spain. His latest venture is an appearance on ITV2 show The Only Way is Essex. — While Bobby Charlton was given an apprenticeship, his elder brother Jack sought work in a coal mine before a talent scout for Leeds United spotted him in an amateur match. He went on to join Bobby in England’s World Cup winning team and later succeeded as a manager.