Vol. 444 No. 7
38 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for Finance if he will increase the tax free allowance limits given to persons over 55 in respect of rent paid to private landlords as rent levels have increased considerably with the sale of some apartment blocks which is causing upset and distress to elderly residents unable to pay the increases.
Income tax relief is at present available for rent paid by persons aged 55 years or over in respect of private tenancies up to a maximum of £1,000 in the case of a single person and £2,000 in the case of a married couple. While I appreciate the situation of people described by the Deputy, I do not, however, consider that increasing the existing relief limits is appropriate.
In this context it should be noted that under the income tax code elderly people already receive more favourable treatment than other taxpayers. Rental relief for private tenancies is not available to people under 55 years of age. Taxpayers who are aged 65 years and over also qualify for higher personal allowances and exemption limits than those applicable to the generality of taxpayers. In addition, the Government in recent years have concentrated on reducing the income tax burden generally and all taxpayers have benefitted from the significant improvements in this area.
