§ Mr. Freudasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many war widows have refused to pay tax on their war widows' pensions since the introduction of such tax; and what action he intends to take in consequence.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonWar widows have a responsibility like other taxpayers, to pay taxes which are due under the law, but the Inland Revenue is always prepared to discuss arrangements for payment by instalments in appropriate cases. Information to answer the first part of the Question is not available.
§ Mr. Freudasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many war widows have been brought into the tax net by his recent legislation on war widows' pensions;
(2) what is his current estimate of tax revenue from war widows' pensions.
§ Mr. Robert Sheldon, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 4th May 1976; Vol. 910, c. 318], gave the following information:
I regret that information is not yet available about the taxable income of war widows from which to estimate the numbers liable for income tax or the total tax payable on war widows' pensions.
§ Mr. Freudasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has had regarding the recent uplifting of war widows' pensions into the tax net.
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§ Mr. Robert Sheldon, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 4th May 1976; Vol. 910, c. 318], gave the following information:
My hon. Friend the Minister of State, Treasury, met representatives from the Royal British Legion on 12th April to discuss the taxation of war widows' pensions. Representations from hon. Members and others have also been received.