§ Mrs. Margaret EwingTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his most recent estimate of the loss to the Exchequer if widows' pensions were to be treated as non-taxable income.
§ Mr. Lilley[holding answer 27 November 1989]: Of the 3½ million widows in the United Kingdom only about 850,000 are liable to income tax. If all their widows' state retirement pensions were treated as non-taxable, the direct revenue cost would be about £270 million.