§ Mr. Trewasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimates have been 103W made of the costs of taking a 51 per cent. interest in the first 25 of the 100 leading British companies as listed in The Times List of Industries; and what would be the rates of increase necessary in income tax, value added tax and corporation tax to finance this operation.
§ Mr. HigginsBased on current market valuation, the cost would be about £6,000 million. This figure includes the cost of increasing the Government holding in British Petroleum to 51 per cent. but excludes four non-quoted companies. The next four companies onThe Times list have been included instead. The tax implication would depend on the method of financing any such measure. But, as the hon. Member will appreciate, £6,000 million is more than half the current full-year yield of all these taxes.