§ 34. Mr. G. Campbellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his present estimate of the percentage of the proposed selective employment tax which will be returned in refunds and premiums in each of the following areas, namely, England, the Highlands and Islands, and the North-East of Scotland.
§ The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. James Callaghan)Refunds and premiums, as a proportion of total tax payments, are estimated at just under 80 per cent, in England and at about the same figure in Scotland as a whole. It is not practicable to provide separate figures for particular areas.
§ Mr. CampbellDo not the figures which the Chief Secretary provided in answer to a previous Question indicate that in the Highlands the tax will be paid at a higher rate per employee than in any other region in the country?
§ Mr. CallaghanNo, Sir, I do not think that that can be said, because it has not been possible to get out figures for other regions in the country. It was an endeavour by the Chief Secretary to get out statistics which has led the statisticians to say that they do not think that the figures are sufficiently reliable to publish, even if they could extract them from the records.