asked the Minister for Finance the estimated cost of the income-splitting provisions announced in the 1980 Budget.
Written Answers. - Budget Income Tax Provisions.
290.
Income-splitting consists of doubled personal allowances and doubled rate bands for married couples whether the couple have one income or two incomes. The married allowance is already double the single allowance, so that full income-splitting is now achieved by doubling the rate bands. The income tax package announced in the budget also includes the new exemption limits, the new employee (PAYE) allowance and increases in the subsidiary allowances. The cost of the package is £131.5 million in 1980 and £227 million in a full year.
The division of this cost over the different items in the package would depend upon the order in which the items were taken for this purpose. On an apportionment basis, however, the cost of the new rate band structure would be £61 million in 1980 and £105 million in a full year.
291.
asked the Minister for Finance the number and percentage of (a) single people, (b) married people and (c) widows or widowers in receipt of an income which would make them liable to tax under PAYE but whose income is not actually high enough to bring them into the tax net on the basis of (i) current allowances, and (ii) the allowances outlined in the budget.
Following is the information requested for the income tax year 1979-80:
|
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
|
|
Total no. of persons registered under PAYE |
Estimated total no. not liable to tax |
Non-liables as a % of total no. registered |
|
|
Single |
510,000 |
159,000 |
31 |
|
Married |
500,000** |
135,000 |
27 |
|
Widowed |
42,000 |
13,000 |
31 |
|
Total |
1,052,000 |
307,000 |
29 |
**includes 85,000 working wives registered as separate persons.
Particulars of incomes and registrations in relation to the income tax year 1980-81 are not yet available, but it is estimated that as a result of the allowances outlined in the budget some 83,000 persons will be taken out of the tax net. Approximately 75,000 of these (32,000 married persons and 43,000 single and widowed persons) would be PAYE taxpayers.