§ Mr. GibbTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish figures for the total tax and social security contributions from 1997–98 to 2002–03 on the basis used in Table 4.5 of the July 1997 Red Book, HC 85. [64638]
§ Ms HewittThe figures for net taxes and social security contributions as a per cent. of GDP in table B9 of the Pre-Budget Report (PBR) are on a cash basis. The18W corresponding figures in table 4.5 of the July 1997 Financial Statement and Budget Report (FSBR) are on an accruals basis. Moving from a cash to an accruals basis requires the addition of accruals adjustments to the cash figures. Accruals adjustments for tax receipts were forecast to be about 0.1 per cent. of GDP in 1998–99, and to remain at about this level in each of the forecast years shown in table B9 of the PBR.
Under national accounts conventions at the time of the July 1997 FSBR, a small amount of MIRAS and of life assurance premium tax reliefs were scored as public expenditure. These amounts do not significantly affect the PBR tax/GDP ratio. The Working Families Tax Credit will only be introduced in October 1999 and hence no assumptions about its treatment were made at the time of the July 1997 FSBR.