§ 11. Mr. A. Lewisasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will give the annual percentage rise or fall in all forms of taxation since 1951, taking that year as being equal to 100 and allowing for the annual depreciation in the purchasing value of the £sterling.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterYes, Sir. As the reply is in the form of a table I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Mr. LewisSince the Government and the party they represent have consistently, at each election, said that they would reduce Government expenditure, reduce taxation and make the £ worth something, and since Government expenditure is now the highest that it has ever been and the £ is now worth less than at any time in our history, can we know when the Government will do something to implement some of their policies?
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterWhen the hon. Gentleman studies my answer he will see that the figures which I have given him in response to his Question indicate that an expanding economy has enabled simultaneously an increased yield of taxation to be produced by taking a smaller proportion of the gross national product.
Following is the information:The first column in the table below shows Central Government receipts from taxes on income, expenditure and capital, adjusted to take account of changes in the purchasing power of the £ as measured by the consumers' price index and expressed as an index (1951=100). The second column shows the changes in receipts from taxation as a proportion of gross national product at factor cost.
| — | Total yield of taxation adjusted for changes in the purchasing power of the £ | Taxes as a percentage of gross national product |
| (1951=100) | (1951=100) | |
| 1951 | 100 | 100 |
| 1952 | 99 | 97 |
| 1953 | 97 | 90 |
| 1954 | 99 | 88 |
| 1955 | 102 | 89 |
| 1956 | 100 | 84 |
| 1957 | 104 | 85 |
| 1958 | 105 | 84 |
| 1959 | 107 | 83 |
| 1960 | 109 | 79 |
| 1961 | 117 | 82 |
| 1962 | 122 | 86 |
| 1963 | 121 | 82 |