Vol. 481 No. 3
88 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for Finance if he will give details of the regulations in relation to a tax refund to a couple, where the full allowance is in the name of one spouse; the reason the refund was divided in the case of a couple (details supplied); the person on whose instructions such a division occurred; the purposes of the division; and the relevant legislation in this regard. [16051/97]
I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the couple are assessed jointly for income tax purposes in accordance with the provisions of section 194 of the Income Tax Act, 1967. The tax refund to the couple was paid in accordance with the provisions of section 195 (C) of the Income Tax Act, 1967, inserted by section 10 (1) of the Finance Act, 1993, which requires that tax refunds to married couples who are jointly assessed for tax be apportioned between the spouses on the basis of the tax paid by them for the relevant year of assessment. The refund was apportioned in accordance with the relevant legal provision and not on the instructions of any person.
Section 195 (C) was one of a number of legislative changes concerning the taxation of married couples introduced by the Finance Act, 1993 as a response to concerns expressed in the report of the Second Commission on the Status of Women.
