§ 3.16 p.m.
§ Lord BALOGHMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in view of the rise in the petroleum prices dictated by OPEC, they contemplate increasing oil taxation to relieve the Budget and the invisible balance of payments.
§ The MINISTER of STATE, TREASURY (Lord Cockfield)My Lords, I have noted the noble Lord's suggestion, but I am unable to antitipate the Budget proposals of my right honourable and learned friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
§ Lord BALOGHMy Lords, while thanking the noble Lord the Minister for that completely unsatisfactory Answer, may I ask whether he is aware of the fact that the windfall profits this year amount to many billions of pounds, and to even more dollars? Does he also realise that this is going over the exchanges? Finally, would he ask his right honourable friend to institute an independent inquiry into the whole problem of oil taxation, which has completely changed during the last two years?
§ Lord COCKFIELDMy Lords, far from being unsatisfactory, my reply assured the noble Lord that his suggestions, which are always worth paying attention to whether or not one agrees with them, have been noted by my right honourable and learned friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The position is that under the terms of the Petroleum Revenue Tax Act 1980, which went through your Lordships' House last month, an additional £700 million of tax is being collected from the North Sea revenues this year, a further £300 million next year and additional sums thereafter. As a result, the total tax take, including royalties, from the North Sea this year will be four times what it was last year.