§ Mr. John Hallasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what in his estimate would need to be the value of estates today to equal in net purchasing power after payment of Estate Duty the net.
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Mr. AmoryFigures for April, 1945, are not available, but between July, 1945, and April, 1951, the estimated increase in the purchasing power of average weekly earnings of manual wage earners in manufacturing and certain other industries was 7 per cent. Between April, 1951, and April, 1957, the corresponding increase was about 20 per cent. These estimates relate to the gross earnings of all operatives combined, before deduction of Income Tax or insurance contributions, as shown in the half-yearly inquiries by the Ministry of Labour and National Service; the change in the purchasing power has been based on the movement in the Consumer Price Index, brought up to date by reference to the Index of Retail Prices.