Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 25 September 2019
55. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if a matter raised in correspondence by a person (details supplied) in County Cork regarding the tax treatment of unmarried couples will be addressed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38948/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraWhere a couple is cohabiting, rather than married or in a civil partnership, each partner is treated for the purposes of income tax as a separate and unconnected individual. Because they are treated separately for tax purposes, credits, tax bands and reliefs cannot be transferred from one partner to the other. Cohabitants do not have the same legal rights and obligations as a married couple or couple in a civil partnership which is why they are not accorded similar tax treatment to couples who have a civil status that is recognised in law.
The basis for the current tax treatment of married couples derives from the Supreme Court decision in Murphy vs. Attorney General (1980). This decision was based on Article 41.3.1 of the Constitution where the State pledges to protect the institution of marriage. The decision held that it was contrary to the Constitution for a married couple, both of whom are working, to pay more tax than two single people living together and having the same income.
The treatment of cohabiting couples for the purposes of social welfare is primarily a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Ms Regina Doherty, T.D. However, it is also based on the principle that married couples should not be treated less favourably than cohabiting couples. This was given a constitutional underpinning following the Supreme Court decision in Hyland v Minister for Social Welfare (1989) which ruled that it was unconstitutional for the total income a married couple received in social welfare benefits to be less than the couple would have received if they were unmarried and cohabiting.
To the extent that there are differences in the tax treatment of the different categories of couples, such differences arise from the objective of dealing with different types of circumstances while at the same time respecting the constitutional requirements to protect the institution of marriage.
Further, I have been advised by Revenue that, from a practical perspective, it would be very difficult to administer a regime for cohabitants which would be the same as that for married couples or civil partners at this time. This is because married couples and civil partners have a verifiable official confirmation of their status and it would be difficult, intrusive and time-consuming to confirm declarations by individuals that they were actually cohabiting.
Therefore, any change in the tax treatment of cohabiting couples can only be addressed in the broader context of future social and legal policy development in relation to such couples.
