Vol. 520 No. 1
165 Mr. Perry asked the Minister for Finance if he will clarify, with respect to the issue of fairness of the changes to tax assessment, the tax implication in the Finance Bill for a single income family whose wife is disabled and highly unlikely to gain employment; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that penalising single income families in their tax assessment is unfair where one parent cannot work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14976/00]
The additional standard rate band is available to married couples where both spouses have income. If the disabled spouse is in receipt of a payment or pension in her own right, then this would be considered a second income and the couple would, therefore, be eligible for married two earner treatment and could avail of the additional standard rate band.
However, there are a number of other tax-free allowances available for people with disabilities. These are: the dependant relative allowance and the allowance for employment of a carer for an incapacitated person.
In addition there are a number of further tax measures from which disabled persons can benefit. The first is medical expenses relief. Section 469 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997 provides for tax relief in respect of various defined health expenses. The disabled drivers scheme, details of which are set out in the Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers (Tax Concessions) Regulations, 1994, S.I. No. 353 of 1994, provide valuable benefits to those severely and permanently disabled persons who qualify under its terms. Under the scheme, a new car may be purchased every two years free of VAT and vehicle registration tax, subject to certain monetary limits. In addition the annual road tax is not charged and the qualifying person is eligible for the provision per annum of 2,728 litres of road fuel free of excise duty.
