§ Mr. HoonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the saving to the revenue if personal allowances were treated as tax credits and deducted from a taxpayer's tax liability after the calculation of the amount of tax due, (as for the married couple's allowance in the 1994 Finance Bill), on the assumption that the value of the personal allowance for a basic rate taxpayer remained the same as at present and a basic rate of income tax of 20 per cent.
§ Mr. DorrellThe hypothetical regime specified, with the value of the personal allowance for a person aged under 65 retained at £861.25p—£3,445 at 25 per cent—but given as a deduction from tax at a rate of 20 per cent. would result in a revenue cost of over £11 billion in a full year.
§ Mr. CongdonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the cost of full transferability of the personal tax allowance between married couples based on a tax rate of 25p in the pound on the basis that married couples allowance no longer existed.
§ Mr. Dorrell[holding answer 1 March 1994]: There is insufficient information in the question on which to base a meaningful reply.