§ Mr. FisherTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what proportion of personal wealth is attributed to dividends in each of the last 15 years;
(2) what proportion of distributed dividends by companies has been paid to (a) individual shareholders and (b) institutions in each of the last 15 years;
435W(3) what was the ratio of distributed dividends to retained profits in companies of the last 15 years in (a) the United States of America, (b) Japan, (c) Germany, (d) Canada, (e) France, (d) Italy, (f) Hong Kong and (g) the United Kingdom.
(4) what are the figures for distributed dividends by private companies as a percentage of after-tax earnings in each of the last 15 years.
§ Mr. NelsonI regret that it has not been possible to provide a substantive answer before the summer recess. I shall write to the hon. Member shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library.
§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 5 July,Official Report, column 107, what is the geographic breakdown of the payments; what is the approximate value of the assets against which these claims are being made; what amounts of these payments are going to residents of (a) Switzerland, (b) the Channel Islands and (c) offshore tax havens; what estimate he makes of the extent to which these payments are being made to corporations or trusts whose ultimate beneficiary or owner is resident in the United Kingdom; what is the total value of dividends or other payments in the United Kingdom, for each of the years given in his answer; and what proportions of overall tax credits are represented by the figures he gives in his answer, for each of the years given.
§ Sir Kenneth ClarkeI regret that it has not been possible to provide a substantive answer before the summer recess. I shall write to the hon. Member shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library.