§ Sir Sydney ChapmanTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the total payments received by the Treasury from the Post Office (a) in corporation tax and (b) under the external finance limit, in each of the last 10 years; and what estimate he has made of the amounts the Treasury will receive in this and the following two financial years. [44677]
§ Mr. Geoffrey RobinsonPayments received for corporation tax and contributions via the external financing limit (EFL) are shown in the table for each of the last 10 years. No Government estimates of future corporation tax revenue for individual bodies are made. The Post Office's EFL for 1998–99 is £-335 million, before any adjustment resulting from end-year flexibility. The Post Office's financial regime for the two following years is under discussion in the Comprehensive Spending Review and the Post Office review.
£ million Contribution via EFL Contribution via corporation tax 1988–89 102 52 1989–90 102 42 1990–91 0 71 1991–92 74 69 1992–93 80 84 1993–94 182 81 1994–95 235 103 1995–96 245 150 1996–97 285 145 1997–98 1338 215 1Provisional outturn
§ Sir Sydney ChapmanTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the Post Office operates under the same public sector borrowing requirement rules as its EU equivalents. [44678]
§ Mr. Geoffrey RobinsonAs long as the Post Office remains in the public sector the Government will need to ensure that there are adequate controls on its borrowing in order to protect the taxpayer's interests. Control is 273W currently exercised via the external financing limit rather than public sector net borrowing. A variety of different arrangements apply in other EU countries.