HC Deb 25 October 1971 vol 823 cc268-70W
Mr. Concannon

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of the draft of the General Guide on Value-Added Tax.

Mr. Higgins

It is not normal practice to place drafts of Customs and Excise notices in the Library of the House. A document, to which I presume the hon. Member is referring, was prepared some time ago to facilitate initial discussions with certain representative bodies; it is out of date and it would be misleading to give it wider circulation.

Mr. McBride

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, in view of the comparatively short time before the imposition of value-added tax, he will take steps fully to inform the taxpayer of all the implications of this change in Great Britain's taxation system.

Mr. Higgins

Yes. My right hon. Friend is very much aware of the need for this. The Green Paper, Cmnd. 4621, published last March was a first step, and since then there have been extensive consultations with representative trade and professional bodies. Further steps will be taken at the appropriate times.

Mr. McBride

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will now list the food items which will be subject to value-added tax.

Mr. Higgins

My right hon. Friend said in his Budget speech that food, except perhaps for those items at present subject to purchase tax, will be relieved from value-added tax. Customs and Excise has since been engaged in discussions with the N.F.U. and other associations concerned, and a further announcement will be made at the appropriate time.

Mr. McBride

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he will take to lighten the administrative burden on the distributive trades which will result from the imposition of value-added tax.

Mr. Higgins

Customs and Excise, which will be administering the tax, has been discussing the practical implications for the distributive trades with a number of representative bodies, and possible solutions of problems in the retail sector are now under consideration by both sides.

Mr. Skeet

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he has given to the possible shortage of calculating machines and cash registers following the introduction of value-added tax in the United Kingdom in 1973.

Mr. Higgins

The accounting requirements for value-added tax will be kept as simple as possible, and I see no reason to think that they will give rise to an unmanageable demand for these machines.

Mr. Skeet

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will enable firms to purchase the desired equipment for operating value-added tax by informing them within a reasonable period of time of the nature of the information required to be set on the till roll and accounting sheets.

Mr. Higgins

Yes, but I see no reason to expect that extensive purchasing of new equipment will be necessary.

Mr. Skeet

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in view of the Government decision to introduce a value-added tax system in the United Kingdom, whether he intends to provide a grant or system of tax allowances to firms for the pur- chase of equipment which is declared essential to operating the tax.

Mr. Higgins

No.