The chancellor, who yesterday insisted that low inflation is here to stay, is coming under fire as the finer points of his pre-Budget reports are uncovered.

According to the influential Institute of Fiscal Studies, Gordon Brown is set to hit millions of families with what the Times describes as "a new stealth tax".

Brown is set to freeze key elements of the working tax credit and the child tax credit - a move which will erode the value of the credits over coming years.

The Guardian, however, claims the chancellor's pre-Budget moves on childcare will assist 100,000 families and predicts Brown is on course to meet his pledge to reduce child poverty.

Details contained within the fine print of the pre-Budget report also revealed that regulatory and policy making bodies are costing the taxpayer a staggering £12 billion a year.

Peter Gershon has now been charged with reviewing the army of regulatory bodies which, the FT reports, "has exploded since Labour came to power".

The FT also reports that the chancellor has already used up most of the government's contingency reserves - leaving him with little margin for error.

It goes on to report that business has been disappointed by the details of Gordon Brown's commitment to reduce red tape and regulation.

Fewer than one in four of the 147 regulations set to be abolished relate to tax issues or business red tape.