§ Mr. Sainsburyasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what is the total revenue from direct taxation, expressed as a percentage of GDP, in the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and West Germany, excluding local income taxes where they apply;
(2) what is the total revenue from indirect taxation expressed as a percentage of GDP, in the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and West Germany.
Per cent, of GDP Netherlands Denmark* Sweden West Germany† Receipts of direct taxes by: Central Government … … … 17.8 n.a. 10.9 6.2 Local government … … … — n.a. 13.1 8.1 Total … … … 17.8 33.0 24.0 14.3 Indirect taxes (total) … … … 12.8 18.9 15.3 14.5 Social security contributions … … … 20.3 1.0 9.7 13.5 Total taxes‡ and social security contributions 50.9 52.9 491 42.4 * The estimates for central government receipts alone are not available. † West Germany's figures are published on the basis of the former UN System of National Accounts (Former SNA), while the other countries' figures are on the basis of the revised system. The difference is likely to have only a small effect on the above percentages. ‡ Excluding taxes on capital. Source:National accounts of OECD countries, 1974 (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 1976).