§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what factors underlie the differences in the forecast for taxation as a share of gross domestic product in(a) 1996–97 and (b) 1997–98 between (i) the 1998 Economic and Fiscal Strategy report and (ii) the 1998 Pre-Budget report; and if he will make a statement. [62124]
§ Ms HewittOutturns for receipts of taxes and social security contributions, net of tax credits, were revised down by £0.4 billion in 1996–97 and by £0.7 billion in 1997–98 between the publication of the Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report (EFSR) and the Pre-Budget Report (PBR). This reduced the tax/GDP ratio by less than 0.1 percentage points in both years. Upward revisions to money GDP since the EFSR, of over 1½ per cent. in 1996–97 and over 2 per cent. in 1997–98, account for the remainder of the downward revision to the tax/GDP ratio in the PBR of 0.6 per cent. in 1996–97 and 0.9 per cent. in 1997–98. These revisions entirely reflect data changes rather than forecasting judgments.