§ Mr. David Atkinsonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the likely loss of revenue if the value added tax threshold limit were raised to (a) £20,000, (b) £50,000, and (c) £100,000 annual taxable turnover; and how many businesses would be eligible for deregistration for each figure.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonIt is estimated that about (a) 500,000, (b) 850,000 and (c) 1 million persons would cease to be under the legal obligation to be registered.
If the limit were raised to £20,000 a year the loss of revenue might be about £40 million in a full year. Raising the limit to £50,000 a year or more would cause such a change in the nature of the tax that it is not possible to make a realistic estimate of the revenue loss.