Mr. LOCKER-LAMPSONasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will take the opinion of the Law Officers in regard to the legality of the action of the Inland Revenue authorities in treating a wife's income as part of her husband's income?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINNo, Sir. As I have already informed my hon. Friend, under the existing law the legality is, in my opinion, indisputable.
§ Sir W. DAVISONasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the grounds on which the income of a husband and wife are added together and are considered the income of the husband for the purposes of Income Tax and Super-tax, while at the same time the income of a wife is separately assessed for Death Duty on her decease and the husband has to pay such duty on inheriting, although the wife's income during her life has always been treated as his income; and whether he will take steps to remove this anomaly in the forthcoming Finance Bill?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINAs my hon. Friend is aware, the reasons for the aggregation of the incomes of married persons for Income Tax purposes were fully discussed in the course of last night's Debate, and I have nothing to add to what I then said on this subject.