§ 16. Mr. Robert Carrasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish a White Paper on the effect of the first 12 months' working of the Selective Employment Tax.
§ Mr. CallaghanNo.
§ 45. Mr. Biggs-Davisonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the fact that Selective Employment Tax was introduced as part of the measures to deal with the economic crisis, he will give an undertaking that this tax will be withdrawn as soon as he judges restrictive measures can be relaxed.
§ Mr. CallaghanNo.
§ Sir J. Langford-Holtasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why he will not reclassify the building industry as a manufacturing industry for purposes of the Selective Employment Tax.
§ Mr. DiamondI see no reason to alter the decision taken when the tax was introduced;
36W
TAXATION AS A PERCENTAGE OF GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCT AT FACTOR COST Total taxes and social security contributions Central government Receipts of Local authorities Social security funds United Kingdom … … 34.1 24.7 4.0 5.4 United States … … 30.0 15.9 9.5 4.6 Belgium … … 33.4 22.0 1.7 9.7 Italy … … 33.4 18.8 2.7 11.8 Netherlands … … 37.6 24.5 0.6 12.4 West Germany … … 39.6 15.6 12.0 12.1 France … … 45.5 24.1 3.9 17.5 NOTE: Figures for Luxembourg are not available. The figures are based partly on information from O.E.C.D. and partly on a publication by the Statistical Office of the European Economic Community. There are minor differences between these two sources and the split of taxation between central government, local authorities and social security funds is therefore only approximate. nor could I contemplate in present circumstances the loss of revenue involved.
§ Mr. Ridleyasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will now seek to amend the Selective Employment Payments Act so that nationalised industries do not receive the refund in respect of those engaged in carrying out electrical contracting work.
§ Mr. DiamondNo. Arrangements have been made to ensure that there is fair competition with private contractors.