§ Mr. HollandTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the number of companies paying corporation tax at(a) the full rate and (b) the small companies rate as applicable for each available year since and including 1979.
§ Mr. Norman Lamont[holding answer 23 May 1988]: Estimates of the numbers of companies liable to pay corporation tax on their profits in accounting periods ending in financial years 1978–79 to 1985–86 are shown in the table. Figures for more recent years are not sufficiently complete to provide a reliable estimate. The 1985–86 estimate is provisional. These numbers have on this occasion been reduced to take account of the fact that CT liabilities are eliminated for some companies by tax already deducted or paid.
Companies liable to Corporation Tax Accounting periods ending in: Numbers '000 1978–79 195 1979–80 200 1980–81 210 1981–82 220 1982–83 235 1983–84 245 1984–85 260 1985–86 300 In respect of 1985–86 about 20,000 companies have liabilities at the full rate and a further 20,000 are in the transitional band between the small companies rate and the full rate. Equivalent figures for earlier years are not available. Membership of company groups affects the point at which marginal and full rates apply and recently available information on this aspect has been used in deriving these estimates.