§ 42. Mr. Kaufmanasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of businesses eligible to register for VAT had done so by 31st January.
§ Mr. HigginsBy 31st January approximately 800,000 applications for registration had been received. No revised estimate of the number eligible to register has yet been made.
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§ 43. Mr. Joel Barnettasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give, at the latest date for which information is available, the number of firms which have registered for VAT in total and in each region of the country, respectively, together with the comparable estimate of the number of firms that should have registered.
§ Mr. HigginsThis information is not available on a regional basis. In total some 950,000 applications for registration had been received up to the end of last week. The number of registrable persons was estimated in mid-1972 to be about 1½ million. No revised estimate has since been made but checks by local VAT staff indicate that the total number of registrations to be expected is less than this due to such factors as group registration.
§ Mr. Joel Barnettasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if it is on his instructions that Customs and Excise officers are telling firms that they prefer them not to use accountants to assist with the preparation of their books for VAT returns as this would result in delay in payment of tax due; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HigginsNo such instructions have been given to Customs and Excise officers.
§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what further representations he has received on the application of value added tax to charities; and what replies he has sent.
§ Mr. HigginsI would refer the hon. Member to my reply on 1st February to the hon. Member for Portsmouth, West (Mr. Judd).