Asked whether he would condone handing out Government cash to the super-rich, the new Labour leader said he was against any move towards underminining the universal principle.
"I'm in favour of that yes, and I'm in favour of it because it's a cornerstone of our system to have universal benefits, and frankly there aren't that many millionaires in this country," he told BBC1's The Politics Show.
"Families on £45,000 need child benefit in my view and it's a way that society recognises the costs of having kids."
Elected party leader only thanks to the votes of trade union members, Mr Miliband has been labelled “Red Ed” by the Conservatives.
He has suggested he wants to reduce the government deficit by relying more on tax rises and less on spending cuts than the Coalition government.
The Conservatives have suggested that means Labour would impose billions of pounds of new taxes on workers.
In a BBC interview, Mr Miliband said he would keep the tax rises announced by the last Labour government – including the 50p income tax rate for high earners – but said he would not go any further.
He said: “I’m not proposing increases in personal taxation beyond those set out by Alistair Darling, definitely.”
Instead, he said he would try to raise more money by taxing banks and cutting down on tax avoidance.
Mr Miliband’s pledge has echoes of promises made by Tony Blair, who pledged that he would never increase the basic rate of income tax.
That tax pledge was central to Mr Blair’s New Labour and its successive election victories. Mr Miliband has promised to “move on” from New Labour.
