§ Mr. LORIMERasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if in his Budget he will remove hardship by making it unnecessary for a husband to include his wife's income in his Income Tax return?
§ Mr. SNOWDENI would remind the hon. Member that in the Income Tax Acts full recognition of the principle of equality as between husband and wife is accorded by the provisions under which either spouse may elect for separate assessment. As regards the rate of tax to be borne by each of the spouses, I would remind the hon. Member that, as was pointed out by the Royal Commission1038W on the Income Tax, the adoption of a course under which a husband and wife would be taxed at a rate or rates determined by their individual incomes and not by their joint income would result in a shifting of burdens from the rich to the poor, and I am not prepared to introduce legislation on such lines.