§ 11. Sir B. Rhys Williamsasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress he has made in his studies of ways to reduce the burden on employers of calculating income tax and graduated National Insurance contributions; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. TaverneNo changes are proposed in relation to the machinery of P.A.Y.E. As regards National Insurance, I would refer the hon. Member to the White Paper on Earnings-Related Social Security which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services is presenting to Parliament today.
§ Sir B. Rhys WilliamsHas the hon. and learned Gentleman appreciated the enormous administrative advantages of ending the old-fashioned system of including negative allowances in the Income Tax system and replacing them with positive allowances of equal value?
§ Mr. TaverneI am aware that the hon. Gentleman has in fact written a pamphlet on this subject. The only thing that can be done at present is to abolish the stamp that is being proposed in the White Paper and to make contributions to pensions payable through the P.A.Y.E. system.