(1)Section 257A of the Taxes Act 1988 (income tax reduction for married couples) shall be amended as follows.
(2)Subsection (1) (reduction where neither spouse is aged 65 or over) shall cease to have effect.
(3)In subsection (2) (reduction where either spouse is aged 65 or over)—
(a)for “is at any time within that year of the age of 65 or upwards” there shall be substituted “ was born before 6th April 1935 ”;
(b)the words from “(instead of” to the end shall be omitted.
(4)In subsection (3) (reduction where either spouse is aged 75 or over)—
(a)after “either of them” there shall be inserted “ (a) ”;
(b)after “75 or upwards,” there shall be inserted “and
(b)was born before 6th April 1935,”;
(c)the words “(1) or” shall be omitted.
(5)In subsection (4) (rule where person dies in year of assessment)—
(a)for “subsections (2) and (3)” there shall be substituted “ subsection (3) ”;
(b)for “a specified age” there shall be substituted “ the age of 75 ”.
(6)In subsection (5) (tapering of reduction where claimant’s total income exceeds specified amount), the words from “(but not” to the end shall be omitted.
(7)After that subsection there shall be inserted the following subsection—
“(5A)The amounts specified in subsections (2) and (3) above shall not by virtue of subsection (5) above be treated as reduced below £1,970.”
(8)In subsection (6) (rule where claimant marries in year of assessment, etc.), for “subsections (1) to (3)” there shall be substituted “ subsections (2) and (3) ”.
(9)After subsection (6) there shall be inserted the following subsections—
“(7)A man who is entitled for any year of assessment to an income tax reduction under this section, or to make a claim for such a reduction, shall not be entitled for that year to any income tax reduction under section 257AA.
(8)Where—
(a)a woman is married to and living with a man for the whole or any part of a year of assessment, and
(b)that man is entitled for that year to an income tax reduction under this section, or to make a claim for such a reduction,
no child shall be regarded for any of the purposes of section 257AA or Schedule 13B as resident with that woman at any time in that year when she is married to and living with that man.
(9)A person may, by notice to an officer of the Board, elect to give up his entitlement for any year of assessment to an income tax reduction under this section; and where he does so and the election is not subsequently revoked, that person shall be taken for the purposes of this section to have no entitlement for that year to a reduction under this section, or to make a claim for such a reduction.”
(10)Subsections (2) to (5) and (8) above have effect for the year 2000-01 and subsequent years of assessment.
(11)Subject to section 32(5) below, subsections (6) and (7) above have effect for the year 1999-00 and subsequent years of assessment.
(12)Subsection (9) above has effect for the year 2001-02 and subsequent years of assessment.