§ 52. Mr. Ronald Bellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the purchasing power now left in the hands of a man with a wholly earned income of £1,500 a year and having a wife and two children under the age of 11 years; what purchasing power a man, similarly placed, would have had left in 1959 and in 1951; and what alteration should be 65W made in the figures given in answer to the hon. Member for South Buckinghamshire, relating to incomes of £2,500, £5,000, and £7,500 a year, on 21st April,
Net income after tax at the present rates Gross income in 1960 Actual Equivalent purchasing power in 1951 1951–52 Equivalent of gross income Corresponding net income after 1951–52 rates of tax £ £ s. d. £ £ s. d. £ s. d. 1,500 1,273 18 4 1,015 1,195 10 0 954 4 0 2,500 1,952 10 7 1,556 1,992 10 0 1,448 7 0 5,000 3,231 4 4 2,575 3,985 0 0 2,210 5 0 7,500 4,137 12 1 3,298 5,977 10 0 2,760 0 0
The corresponding figures for an earned income of £1,500 in 1959 which should be added to the table I gave on 21st April, 1959, are as follows: Net income after tax at 1950–60 rates Gross income Actual Equivalent purchasing power in 1951 1951–52 Equivalent of gross income Corresponding net income after 1951–52 rates of tax £ £ s. d. £ £ s. d. £ s. d. 1,500 1,273 18 4 1,006 1,185 4 0 947 17 0 All the figures are for an income wholly earned of a married man with two children under 11. The equivalent purchasing power in 1951, and the equivalent of gross income in 1951–52, are calculated from the consumer price index, brought up to date by the Retail Price Index.