Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 26 Jan 1994

Vol. 437 No. 6

Written Answers. - Cost of Changing Tax Bands.

Pat Cox

Question:

165 Mr. Cox asked the Minister for Finance the cost to the Exchequer from 6 April 1994 to 31 December 1994, and in a full year, in gross and net terms for each £100 change in the standard and higher bands and allowances for individual income tax payers.

Minister for Finance (Mr. B. Ahern)

The only relevant information available as to cost is in relation to the direct cost to the Exchequer in income tax foregone if the changes referred to in the question were enacted for the income tax year 1994/95. The estimated costs of increasing the main personal allowances and the standard tax rate band by £100 are set out in the following table.

Increase of £100 in each of:	Estimated 1994 Cost	Estimated Full Year Cost
	£m	£m
Standard band	7	12
Personal allowances, excluding the PAYE & PRSI allowances	26	43
Personal allowances, including the PAYE & PRSI allowances	58	95

The personal allowances included in the estimates of cost are the married, single and widowed allowances together with the associated one-parent family allowance. It is assumed that the increase in the single allowance must be combined with double that increase in the allowance for married persons assessed to tax on the aggregate basis.