Liam Aylward
Ceist:22 Mr. Aylward asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the financial hardship experienced by widows and widowers with dependent children due to taxation anomalies. [15182/95]
Vol. 459 No. 1
22 Mr. Aylward asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the financial hardship experienced by widows and widowers with dependent children due to taxation anomalies. [15182/95]
Widowed persons are generally given special recognition by the income tax code and are treated more favourably than a single person. The widowed person's personal tax free allowance currently stands at £3,000. This is £500 higher than the personal allowance available to a single person which is £2,500. Furthermore, an additional allowance of £2,000 is available to the widowed person who has dependent children. This means that the personal allowances of a widowed person with dependent children are brought up to £5,000, the same level as the basic allowance for a married couple. In the year of bereavement, the widowed person also retained married treatment i.e. double rate bands.