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By contrast, about 22 per of married Liberal MPs reported their spouses had no income. About 25 per cent of NDP MPs whose marital status is publicly known had spouses without income.

Expressed another way, just over half of Conservative MPs’ spouses realized income over the $1,000 reporting threshold required under the Conflict of Interest Code for MPs. But more than seven in 10 Liberal MP spouses took home salaries, and six in 10 NDP MPs’ spouses reported income.

In short, Liberal and New Democrat MPs are more likely to be coupled with another working spouse than are Conservatives, a reflection, perhaps of the disparate demographics of the parties.

(The marital status of a high number of NDP MPs, particularly the younger MPs first elected in Quebec in 2011, is unclear as few report they are single on their official biographies. Single people do not benefit from income splitting. MPs whose marital status was uncertain were not included in this calculation.)

While many MPs have spouses who earn income, the conflict-of-interest reporting requirements do not require them to list how much they earn. Many of these couples might still benefit from income splitting because of the comparatively high salaries of their MP husbands, wives or common-law partners.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau has repeatedly criticized the income-splitting plan by saying families like his and Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s don’t need the tax break.