§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the loss in revenue if the income tax thresholds were raised to the supplementary benefit level for each person according to marital status and family size.
§ Mr. Robert Sheldon,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 29th June 1976; Vol. 914, c. 108], gave the following information:
To raise tax thresholds to the corresponding average supplementary benefit levels for 1976–77—including an allowance for rent and rates, and taking into account the levels before and after the November 1976 uprating—would require varying increases in the tax allowances 523W for single people and married couples, depending on the number of children in the family. Tax thresholds for some families, including most single-parent families, are already above the corresponding supplementary benefit levels for the year as a whole.
If it were practicable to vary the rates of individual tax allowances according to family size the estimated cost in 1976–77 of increasing tax thresholds to supplementary benefit levels would be nearly £900 million in addition to the increases in personal reliefs proposed in the Budget. But if tax thresholds were raised to at least supplementary benefit levels by uniform increases in the main personal allowances the cost would be as quoted in the reply given on 11th May 1976—[c. 127–8]—to a similar Question on this subject from the hon. Member.