§ Mrs. Thatcherasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the cost, for Estate Duty purposes, of raising the exemption limit from £5,000 to £6,000, of providing that an owner-occupied house shall rank as a separate estate, and of providing that an owner-occupied house should be valued on an existing-use basis, respectively.
§ Mr. MacDermotTo increase the exemption limit for Estate Duty by £1,000 to £6,000 would cost about £½ million in a full year assuming that there 83W would be no relief for estates over £6,000. To treat owner-occupied houses as separate estates for Estate Duty purposes would cost nearly £20 million in a full year. It is not possible to give an estimate of the cost of valuing owner-occupied houses for Estate Duty purposes on an existing use basis.