§ Mr. Gordon Brownasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost of extending the separate assessment of wife's income election to investment income; and how many people he calculates could benefit from such an opportunity.
§ Mr. Norman LamontOn the basis of the distribution of investment income between husbands and wives reported to the Inland Revenue, the full year cost at 1987–88 income levels of extending the wife's earnings election to investment income and category B national insurance pensions is about £120 million and about 170,000 couples would benefit. These estimates may understate the full effects because some investment income for which income tax liability at the basic rate is satisfied562W at source is not reported to the Inland Revenue and the estimates make no allowance for behavioural changes which might occur.