Meanwhile, in France, women are toughing it out with free all-day childcare, per-child tax benefits and allowances, four-month paid maternity leaves and a state-paid personal trainer to get back in shape after childbirth.

FORBES: French Women Don't Get Fat And American Women Don't Get Benefits

Responding for the government, Exchequer Secretary David Gauke maintained that changes to child benefits and working tax credits were "entirely fair".

BBC: Child benefit changes under fire in the Commons

At 4.30pm the Work and Pensions Committee quizzes the final witnesses in its inquiry on Universal Credit, the new social security benefit which replaces Jobseeker's Allowance, Income Support, Child Tax Credits, Housing Benefit and other working-age benefits with one single payment.

BBC: Week ahead

This proposal would eliminate all deductions, credits and exclusions except for the earned income credit and child credit, sharply reduce income tax rates, and continue to exclude employee benefits from payroll tax.

FORBES: Washington Plays The Baseline Game On Deficit Reduction

These include increasing working age benefits by 5.2% in April and the child element of Child Tax Credit by inflation.

BBC: Tax credit change could cost families ?4k a year - Labour

Other large tax expenditure provisions that I did not include in this experiment include the earned income tax credit, the child credit, the exclusion of employer provided and self-employed health benefits, and the present law treatment of various forms of retirement income and pension plans.

FORBES: Eliminating Tax Expenditures To Cut Rates - Early Results Are Underwhelming

The deal also includes some additional stimulus tax benefits, like a two-year expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, the additional child tax credit and a credit to help college students offset tuition costs.

FORBES: Taxes? Hold 'Em!