§ Mr. Silvesterasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what is his current estimate of the loss of tax revenue if the investment income of husband and wife were taxed independently;
(2) by how much the abolition of the investment income surcharge has reduced the cost of taxing the investment income of husband and wife independently.
§ Mr. Moore[pursuant to his replies, 21 January 1985, c. 319]: On the basis of the recorded distribution of investment income between husband and wife, the latest estimate of the overall cost in 1984–85 of the income election described in paragraphs 46 to 50 of the Green Paper "The Taxation of Husband and Wife" (Cmnd. 8093) is about £320 million. If the investment income surcharge had been retained the cost would have been about £50 million greater.
The estimates do not reflect the possible rearrangement of income between husband and wife which might occur in response to the change.