§ Mr. O'BrienTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the question of making the personal tax allowance fully transferable between the spouses where the income into the household is low; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Norman Lamont[holding answer 15 April 1988]: We continue to receive representations from time to time in support of the system of transferable allowances for husband and wife described in the 1986 Green Paper, "The Reform of Personal Taxation" (Cmnd. 9756).
In his Budget my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer proposed a new system of independent taxation of husband and wife to take effect from April 1990. Under these proposals there will be a new married couple's allowance which will go to the husband unless he has insufficient income to use it himself, in which case any unused part can be transferred to his wife.