§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to his reply dated 11 March concerning tax relief on life assurance, how many persons would be likely to benefit on average from replacing the present relief by an increase of £30 in the personal allowance; and how many would be worse off.
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§ Mr. Peter ReesThe estimated numbers of taxpayers affected within the ranges of total income for 1978–79, the last year for which the information is available, is as follows:
Number of taxpayers Income range Benefiting Worse off ('000) Below £2,000 … 2,300 200 £2,000–£10,000 … 12,875 4,925 £10,000–£12,000 … 210 290 £12,000–£16,000 … 130 170 £16,000–£20,000 … 40 60 £20,000 and over … 30 70 The figures count married couples as one.
§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to his reply dated 11 March concerning tax relief on life assurance, whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the net cost to the taxpayer in each band if the life assurance relief were replaced by a reduction in the basic rate of tax.
§ Mr. Peter ReesReplacement of life assurance relief which cost £260 million at 1978–79 income levels and tax rates would be represented by a reduction in basic rate for that year of approximately 0.6p. The net effect per taxpayer in the relevant income ranges would be as follows:
Range of total income Average gain (+) or loss (-) to each taxpaying unit if life assurance relief replaced by a change in basic rate £ Below £2,000 … -1.75 £2,000–£10,000 … +0.65 £10,000–£12,000 … -0.20 £12,000–£16,000 … -7.80 £16,000–£20,000 … -28.40 £20,000 and over … -63.60