§ Mr. Knoxasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) from information available from international sources, what percentage direct taxation was of total taxation in the other member countries of the European Economic Community in 1958, 1972 and the most recent year for which figures are available; and what were the equivalent figures for the United Kingdom;
(2) from information available from international sources, what percentage individual taxation was of total taxation in the other member countries of the European Economic Community in 1958, 1972 and in the most recent year for which figures are available; and what were the equivalent figures for the United Kingdom;
(3) from information available from international sources, what percentage capital taxation was of total taxation in the other member countries of the European Economic Community in 1958, 1972 and the most recent year for which figures are available; and what were the equivalent figures for the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. RidleyThe following tables are based on information from the "Revenue Statistics of OECD Member Countries, 1965–80". Since no comparable data are available for 1958 and since, at present, there are only less detailed and provisional data for 1980, the tables present the figures requested for 1960, 1972 and 1979.
The figures for direct taxation are given in table A. Direct taxation has been taken to mean taxes on income and profits, and the social security contributions of employees and the self-employed. Since capital taxes are shown separately in table B, they have been excluded from table A.
Table B gives the percentages for capital taxation. This heading covers capital gains tax (as far as it is separately identified), recurrent taxes on net wealth, estate, inheritance and gift taxes, and non-recurrent taxes on assets e.g. capital levies, development land tax.
Indirect taxation, shown in table C, has been defined as taxes mainly on transactions (VAT, Specific duties, stamp duties—and equivalent—on financial transactions, &c.). Also included are payroll taxes (such as NIS in the United Kingdom), employers' payments of social security contributions and recurrent taxes on property (such as rates).
Total taxation includes social security contributions.
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Table A: Direct taxation (excluding capital taxes) as a percentage of total taxation Percentage 1960 1972 1979 Belgium *29.9 44.9 52.4 Denmark 49.4 56.5 54.3 France N/A 27.8 30.7 West Germany 44.6 48.1 50.7 Ireland 23.6 32.6 40.9 Italy *15.7 27.5 38.7 Luxembourg N/A 53.4 59.0 Netherlands 53.1 53.6 53.2 United Kingdom 44.2 45.4 45.0
Table B: Capital taxation as a percentage of total taxation Percentage 1960† 1972 1979 Belgium† 1.6 0.9 0.9 Denmark 2.5 0.9 1.0 France N/A 0.6 0.6 West Germany 3.5 1.7 1.1 Ireland 2.2 1.9 0.6 Italy 0.7 0.7 0.8 Luxembourg N/A 3.5 3.1 Netherlands 2.5 1.1 1.2 United Kingdom 3.2 3.6 1.7
Table C: Indirect taxation as a percentage of total taxation Percentage 1960 1972 1979 Belgium *41.7 54.2 46.7 Denmark 48.2 42.6 44.7 France N/A 71.6 68.7 West Germany 51.9 50.2 48.2 Ireland 72.5 65.5 58.5 Italy *51.0 71.8 60.5 Luxembourg N/A 43.1 37.9 Netherlands 44.5 45.3 45.6 United Kingdom 52.5 51.1 53.3 Key to Tables * excludes social security contributions paid by employees (table A) or employers (table B), which are not separately identified for these countries. † excludes taxes on capital gains which are not separately identified for Belgium. Taxes on capital gains have negligible yield for all countries in 1960.