Cable: Stay at home mums get a bad deal... but Business Secretary says Government can't fix unfair tax system to help them Said he had "nothing but respect" for women who care for children full-time He admitted there was anger at current tax system A two-income family pays less tax than a family where only one parent works Admission: Vince Cable has acknowledged there is 'prejudice' in the way stay-at-home mothers are taxed Vince Cable has acknowledged there is "prejudice" in the way stay-at-home mothers are taxed. But while he said the fact that single-income families could be taxed higher than those on two incomes was "unfair," he said there was nothing the Government could do about it. The Business Secretary was bombarded with inquiries about Coalition policy on childcare tax breaks yesterday while taking questions from mothers. Mr Cable said he had "nothing but respect" for women who chose to care for their children full-time rather than going out to work. He said he had married two stay-at-home mothers. However he admitted there was anger at a tax system in which a two-income family pay less tax than a family where only one parent works. One of the questions was from Laura Perrins, a barrister and mother of two who harangued Nick Clegg on his LBC radio programme in March. The 32-year-old, who gave up her legal career to look after her children, told Mr Clegg that many traditional families felt discriminated against by the announcement that working parents only would receive a tax break of up to £1,200 per year to cover soaring childcare costs. She wrote to Mr Cable, who was yesterday answering questions online on the Mumsnet website: "Why is the Coalition discriminating against mothers who choose to look after their children themselves? Why does a single-earner family on £36,000 pay £9,000 in tax compared to a double-income family who pays £6,500. Why does the tax system ignore caring duties? He said: "The problem you describe dates back several decades to the point where it was decided to tax people as individuals rather than families. It used to be possible for families to swap tax allowances but in a world where most families have two earners, this created serious anomalies of its own. Speaking out: Mr Cable said he had 'nothing but respect' for women who chose to care for their children full-time rather than going out to work. The current unfairness is partly offset by tax credits but I recognise the grievance you describe. I don't think there is an easy solution, or we would have found it. Mr Cable was told by another contributor the Government "seems to dislike" mothers who stay at home to care for their children, as ministers talk about "people who want to get on." He replied: "I certainly don't share the prejudice against stay-at-home mums. I have married two. My late wife was an extremely talented historian with a PhD and a professional pianist who made a conscious decision to stay at home and work part-time so she could spend more time with our children. It was difficult for her. Lots of frustrations, but she felt this was the right thing to do. Mr Cable said the Government had no official view on whether women should return to work after maternity leave. He said: "I consider it a perfectly valid option for one parent, man or woman, to stay at home to help bring up children." Last night Mrs Perrins told the Mail: "We are not looking to be paid for looking after our own children. It's about the importance of caring, and how the tax system ignores completely caring duties at home.