§ 11. Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of their disposable income the bottom quintile group of non-retired households, ranked by original income, paid in total in indirect tax in 1987; and what proportion the top quintile paid using the same method as in "Economic Trends", December 1988.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardCalculating the figures on the basis requested, the relevant proportions are 29.4 per cent. for the bottom quintile and 19.2 per cent. for the top quintile.
§ Mr. HinchliffeDoes not the Government's record on the amount of direct and indirect taxation paid by some of 445 the poorest members of our community contrast remarkably with the new Prime Minister's professed aim to establish a classless society? Is not it a fact that the Government's policies have set out deliberately to widen the gap between the richest and the poorest?
§ Mrs. ShephardThe fact is that real take-home pay levels have increased under this Government for every income group, and real take-home pay is what matters.
§ Mr. Bill WalkerDoes my hon. Friend agree that because real take-home pay has increased for the people of the United Kingdom, not least for the people of Scotland—where there are more people in work today than at any time in history—they are now able to spend their money as they wish and to enjoy holidays abroad, which their parents never even dreamed of?
§ Mrs. ShephardMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. The fact is that people have more choice in the way in which they spend their money, and indirect taxes take up broadly the same proportion of household expenditure for households on all levels of income. That is why the Government have chosen to shift some of the burden from direct to indirect taxation.