§ Mr. Trotterasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the present limit for relief for income tax purposes in respect of interest on mortgages or other loans incurred for house purchase was fixed on the loan of a capital sum of £25,000; what would be the equivalent limit today after allowing for the fall in the value of the £ sterling; how the £25,000 limit compared at the time of its introduction with (a) the average cost of a house and (b) the average building society loan for a house purchase; and what is the comparison with the present averages.
§ Mr. Miscampbellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what figure the £25,000 limit for tax relief on mortgage interest payments would have to be set to compensate for inflation since the introduction of the limit.
§ Mr. Wakeham[pursuant to the reply, 1 February 1983, c. 83]: The £25,000 limit was introduced in the Finance Act 1974, with effect for the financial year 1974–75. If the limit were raised in line with the retail prices index from the start of 1974–75 to December 1982—the latest date for which the index is available—it would be £76,700. The remaining information is given in the table below.
£25,000 as proportion of: (a) Average house price (b) Average building society loan for house purchase 2nd quarter 1974 2.3 3.9 3rd quarter 1982 0.9 1.5