§ Mr. Chris SmithTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he intends to make any arrangements in order to enable those married couples who wish to share the benefits of the married couple's allowance equally between them from 1990 to do so.
§ Mr. Norman LamontNo. The married couple's allowance which will be introduced under independent taxation in April 1990 will be given in the first instance to the husband. If he has insufficient income to use part or all of the allowance himself he will be able to transfer the surplus to his wife. Allowing married couples generally to share the married couple's allowance between them would add considerably to the complexity of independent taxation and would delay its introduction. Fewer than one in 300 couples would gain any financial advantage from this additional complexity.