§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the tax debts at the latest date for which figures are available for(a) overall income tax, (b) PAYE and (c) corporation tax.
§ Mr. LilleyThe amounts of tax outstanding at the annual balance date to the end of October 1988 (the latest published figures), together with provisional figures for the year to October 1989, are as follows:
£ billion Assessed taxes October 1988 October 1989 (provisional figures) Income tax 2.3 2.3 Corporation tax 1.5 1.6 CGT 0.1 0.2 PAYE Closed years 0.8 0.8 Current year 0.6 0.7 Total 5.3 5.6 The outstanding balances at October are equivalent to 7.75 per cent. and 7.25 per cent. respectively of the total tax due for 1988–89 and 1989–90. They include over £1 billion which had only recently become due, and the bulk (about four-fifths) attracts interest. The amounts actually remitted or written off—mostly due to insolvency—in these years were less than 1 per cent. of the tax due.