§ Mr. Hordernasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the gain or loss to the Exchequer if the married woman's earnings allowance was abolished and replaced by a single person's allowance.
§ Mr. RidleyIf a single person's allowance were given to a married woman and were available only against her earned income, there would be no effect on revenue as the value of the two allowances is the same. I take it my hon. Friend has in mind a system of independent taxation in which the allowance would be available against the whole of a wife's income. The outcome would then depend upon the precise arrangements that might be adopted for the taxation of married couples, and whether the allowance was transferrable, in whole or in part. The options are discussed in the Green Paper on "The Taxation of Husband and Wife".—Cmnd. 8093.
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§ Mr. Hordernasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the gain to the Exchequer if the married man's allowance was abolished and he received the single person's allowance.
§ Mr. RidleyIf the married man's allowance was reduced to the level of the single allowance—and the wife's earned income allowance continued to be available to married women, neither allowance being transferable—the yield at 1982–83 income levels would be about £3,500 million in a full year.