§ Mr. Crawfordasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the current top rates of taxation, expressed in percentage 58W terms, of the nine EEC countries, Austria, Norway, and Sweden.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonI understand that current top rates of personal income tax are as follows:
Employment income Per cent. Investment income Per cent. Austria … 62.0 62.0 Belgium … 72.0 72.0 … (75.6) (75.6) Denmark … 39.6 39.6 … (63.3) (63.3) France … 54.0 60.0 Germany … 56.0 56.0 Ireland … 77.0 77.0 Italy … 72.0 72.0 (76.0) Luxembourg … 57.0 57.0 Netherlands … 72.0 72.0 Norway … 48.0 48.0 … (71.0) (71.0) Sweden … 57.0 57.0 … (82.0) (82.0) United Kingdom … 83.0 98.0 Notes:
1. The figures in brackets include:
- (a) for Belgium, the normal rate of local income tax;
- (b) for Denmark, communal income tax for Copenhagen;
- (c) for Italy, the normal rate of local income tax and takes into account its deductibility for national income tax;
- (d) for Norway, the normal rate of local income tax;
- (e) for Sweden, the average rate of local income tax.
2. The rates for France exclude the temporary surcharge on 1975 income imposed in October 1976 to provide relief for farmers stricken by drought. If this surcharge were included the top rate for employment income would be 58.3 per cent. and the top rate for investment income would be 64.8 per cent.