§ 17. Mr. Carterasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he is giving to the introduction of a negative form of income tax assessment.
§ Mr. BarberWe are continuing further studies.
§ Mr. CarterDoes the right hon. Gentleman agree that in view of the large number of individuals and families who are failing to take advantage of benefits of one kind or another, a negative form of income tax would go a long way not only to relieve poverty but to remove the stigma of the means test, which has been greatly increased under Conservative rule?
§ Mr. BarberWhat the hon. Gentleman says only goes to show that this is an important and difficult problem. It is certainly not easy to find the right solution. Neither I nor my colleagues in the Treasury have ever pretended that it would be easy to find a solution quickly. Many people have been trying to evolve a form of negative income tax for many years, and I assure the hon. Gentleman that we are continuing with further studies.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerWhen are these studies likely to be completed? When they are, will my right hon. Friend consider publishing a Green Paper containing the various alternatives that the studies will show? Will he then set up a Select Committee to examine the specific proposals contained in that Green Paper, 1123 the procedure used so successfully with corporation tax?
§ Mr. BarberMy hon. Friend will agree that I have always argued the merit of the Green Paper system. But I would not wish to anticipate the outcome of these studies, and I regret that I am unable to give him a meaningful idea of the time they are likely to take.