§ 1. Mr. Nabarroasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that a male spouse as owner-occupier of a dwelling house has to require a receipted bill from his female spouse in respect of her labour for household repairs in order to secure maintenance relief, Income Tax Schedule A; and, as both such spouses are treated as one for assessment to Income Tax Schedule D and Schedule E, and the labour cost of the male spouse as owner-occupier is inadmissible for purpose of maintenance relief claims on his own house, whether he will admit the labour costs of both spouses for household repairs as part of a Schedule A maintenance relief claim, where appropriate.
§ The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. Selwyn Lloyd)I am afraid I cannot accept my hon. Friend's proposal, since only actual expenditure can be allowed. I think this is right in principle.
§ Mr. NabarroBut would not the Chancellor give some consideration to the fact that large numbers of married women own houses and that when their husbands carry out works of maintenance or repair or decoration the invidious situation arises that the wife is employing the husband, and if the house is jointly owned by husband and wife the inspectors of taxes are completely confounded by the Chancellor's statute? Would my right hon. and learned Friend not clarify the situation and allow the cost of all labour in the home, on repair, decoration and the remainder, to form 1346 part of a charge for maintenance relief under Schedule A?
§ Mr. LloydI will certainly consider the complications which my hon. Friend puts forward, but it would be a mistake to allow notional earnings to be included, because if they were included for relief they might also be included for assessment.