§ Mrs. Chalkerasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will treat all maintenance income, instead of only that which is presently allowed, as earned income for tax purposes; what would be the additional cost of so doing; and how many recipients of maintenance income would benefit.
§ Mr. Robert Sheldon,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 14th January 1976; Vol. 903, 106-1], gave the following information:
Income from maintenance payments up to £1,000, or up to £2,000 if the recipient has no other investment income, is taxed no more heavily than earned income. I do not think that it would be right to abandon these limits. I am afraid that it is not possible to estimate the cost of abandonment, nor the numbers who would benefit.