§ 9. Mr. Christopher Priceasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a study, through the Government Social Survey, of the social effects of the compulsory aggregation of the incomes for Income Tax and Surtax purposes of married couples living together.
§ Mr. TaverneI do not think this would be a fruitful exercise.
§ Mr. PriceDoes my hon. and learned Friend realise that this involves a fundamental issue of women's rights? Is it sensible to put a married woman living apart from her husband—separated or divorced, or a woman who has not bothered to get married but is just living with someone—in a better tax position than a married woman living with her husband in marital bliss?
§ Mr. TaverneIt is very important to get this point absolutely clear. The majority of married couples are more favourably treated under the present tax system if they are both earning than if they were taxed separately.
§ Mr. Iain MacleodWith respect to the Minister of State, what he is saying is that an injustice does not matter if comparatively few people are affected by it, and we find that an intolerable reflection.
§ Mr. TaverneWe obviously could not have married women treated differently depending on the amount they earn. The present position is that the majority of married women are better treated for tax purposes than if they were taxed separately, although the reverse is true of those earning more than £5,000 a year.