§ Mr. Meacherasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he has to redress the anomaly whereby retirement pensioners who are due for a pension increase in the autumn are made liable for income tax at the appropriate annual 273W average rate during the part of the financial year prior to the pension increase; and if he will permit an election to be made by pensioners that an increase in their income tax liability should be postponed till the pension increase is actually received.
§ Mr. NottThis autumn's pension increases were not taken directly into account in PAYE codes before payment of them began. Where however a pensioner is entitled to marginal age exemption relief, an estimate of his total annual income had to be made by the tax office before the start of the year to determine his PAYE code; and in these cases the increase was included in the estimate, unless the pensioner requested otherwise, as explained in the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Luton (Mr. Simeons) on 18th April 1973.—[Vol. 855, c.157.]