§ 11. Mr. McCrindleasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider favourably the representations made to him to grant the equivalent of the married man's allowance to widows with children.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonWidows with children already receive the additional personal allowance as well as the single person's allowance. We shall certainly continue to keep their position under review, but, as I said in answer to a 686 question from my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Heeley (Mr. Frank Hooley) on 18th December, we are not persuaded that it would be justifiable to make up the full difference between the single and married allowances.
§ Mr. McCrindleWill it not help these women to help themselves, if they are left with all the household bills to be met out of one income, if their income for tax purposes is treated the same as the breadwinner's income in a two-parent family?
§ Mr. SheldonI understand the point that the hon. Gentleman is making. We have sought to do quite a lot in that respect, as the hon. Gentleman will know. Last year, we increased the additional allowance from £130 to £180 to assist those widows with one child. If there are more children, there will be more tax allowances. However, from conversations with many of these widows, I realise that it was not sufficiently understood that, with the personal allowance and the additional allowance, and the allowance for one child only, a widow had to earn over £1,045 a year before she became liable to income tax. That is not a great amount. But there have been some misconceptions about this which it might be better to allay.
§ Mr. WellbelovedDoes not my hon. Friend agree that the taxation system as applied to widows struggling to bring up children compares unfavourably with the tax immunity enjoyed by some well-known residents of this realm?
§ Mr. SheldonI can do nothing but agree with my hon. Friend.