asked the Minister for Finance the amount of revenue required to be forgone to (a) reduce all rates of personal income tax by a percentage point; and (b) to double all personal reliefs against income tax.
Written Answers. - Income Tax.
379.
(a) The full year cost is estimated at £26 million; (b) The estimated full year cost of doubling the single, widowed, married and child allowances would be of the order of £370 million.
380.
asked the Minister for Finance if he intends to improve the tax free allowance of widowed persons whose relative position was considerably worsened in the 1978 budget.
The 1978 budget provided for an increase of £200 in the income tax personal allowance of widowed persons. This unprecedented increase has greatly benefited all widowed taxpayers.
Alteration of any of the personal allowances for income tax purposes is a budgetary matter. It would not be appropriate at this time to give any indication of what proposals the next budget statement might or might not contain.