§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the cost in the current financial year if wives' earned income allowance were abolished and if single persons' and married couples' tax allowances were to be replaced by a single, uniform adult tax allowance, for 262W which each adult would be eligible regardless of marital status.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonTo replace the present allowances by a personal allowance of £735 for all single people and an allowance of £1,470 for all married couples—and giving age allowance for people aged 65 and over at rates of £1,010 for a single person and £2,020 for a married couple—would cost between £300 million and £400 million at 1976–77 levels of income and allowances. I regret that information is not available from which to estimate the cost of taxing husbands and wives as separate individuals each entitled to a single allowance.