Dear Listener,

There is a growing rebellion among Labour MPs over the impact of changes which will take more tax this year off people on low incomes. Money Box has raised this issue since it was first proposed in the March 2007 Budget. The government has admitted that 5.3 million low income people will pay more tax. Now Frank Field, formerly Labour’s Minister for Welfare Reform, is proposing a compensation package for at least four million of the people affected. He explains the details and we ask – could it work?

One of Britain’s biggest banks asks its shareholders for more money. Royal Bank of Scotland will be asking shareholders to stump up the cash – which could be £10 billion – before its AGM on Wednesday. A banking specialist will tell us what this means for shareholders, customers, and the wider banking industry.

The Fabian Society – a socialist society founded by George Bernard Shaw and friends in 1884 ¬– says that inheritance tax should be strengthened by turning it into a lifetime gift tax. We hear from a professor of finance who says on the contrary, just scrap it.

The déjà vu department asks me to say…

…we will be discussing a new service that protects your money against the risk of a bank going out of business. Up to £35,000 per person per bank is protected. And this new service makes sure that your money is spread among banks so that all of it is safe. Is the charge the company makes a price worth paying for peace of mind?

…sounds familiar? I promised it you last week but we ran out of time. We will run the story this week. We hope.

And we’ll have a web exclusive – mortgage lenders call for improved state help with mortgage payments for people who have lost their job. It would help reduce the impact of the credit crunch. But who will pay? Hear the surprising answer on our website.

That’s all on Saturday at noon, repeated Sunday at nine pm. Or you can listen online at any time. Or you can download the podcast for your MP3 player or subscribe to get it sent every week. All at www.bbc.co.uk/moneybox . And before you throw your hands up in horror and email me to say what happened when you tried that last week – I know. Apologies for the podcast problems last weekend. These were resolved by Monday afternoon and we’ll take care they don’t happen again.

Best wishes,

Paul Lewis

PS Don’t forget the live preview of Money Box on BBC1 Breakfast between 8.45 and 9 on Saturday morning.

e-mail Paul Lewis