§ Sir Brandon Rhys Williamsasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will tabulate figures comparing net after tax incomes for a married pensioner couple with joint 718W gross incomes of £100 per week, under the present system and assuming schemes 1 to 4 of Cmnd. 8093, in each of the following circumstances: (a) £55 state pension, all payable on the husband's contribution, and £15 occupational pension of husband, and £30 Investment income of wife, (b) £55 state pension with the wife's share payable on her own national insurance contribution, and £10 occupational pension of wife, and £20 Investment income of wife, and £15 occupational pension of husband and (c) £55 state pension, all payable on the husband's contribution, and £15 occupational pension of husband, and £20 investment pension of wife, and £10 income of wife through self-employed retirement annuity scheme.
§ Mr. RidleyThe tax bills in 1983-84 for a married couple over 65 in the circumstances specified are as follows
(a) £8.34 per week (b) no tax payable, (c) £5.34 per week. The calculation in (b) assumes that the wife's national insurance retirement pension is treated as her earned income.The personal allowance levels on the basis of revenue neutrality for schemes 1 to 4 of Cmnd. 8093 were determined, at 1980-81 levels, for taxpayers under 65. To set appropriate levels for the aged, in order to calculate specimen tax bills, it would be necessary to answer the questions raised in chapter 7 of Cmnd. 8093 and to determine the desired relativity between the basic single person's allowance and the allowance for those aged 65.
§ Sir Brandon Rhys Williamsasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the cost of allowing wives to count their category '13' national insurance retirement pensions — paid by virtue of the husbands' national insurance contributions — as their own earned income, assuming (a) continuation of the present tax system and retention of married man's tax allowance and wife's earned income allowance, and (b) independent taxation under schemes 1 to 4 of Cmnd. 8093.
§ Mr. RidleyThe cost of treating category B national insurance retirement pensions as the earned income of the wife would be about £300 million in a full year at 1983-84 levels of income and allowances.
For the reasons set out in chapter 7 of Cmnd. 8093, it would be natural to treat the category B pension as the wife's income under a system of independent taxation. The revenue consequences of doing so would therefore form part of the overall cost of the switch to a system of independent taxation, which would depend on the levels of allowances and the treatment of elderly taxpayers under the scheme in question.
§ Sir Brandon Rhys Williamsasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate for 1982-83 of total incomes from each of the following: wages and salaries, income from self-employment, rent, dividends and interest, income in kind and pensions and other benefits from life assurance and superannuation schemes.
§ Mr. RidleyEstimates of household income analysed as requested are compiled annually only for calendar years. Estimates for 1982 will be published in September in table 4.4 of the Blue Book "National Income and Expenditure", 1983 edition.