Mr. Burnettasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the number of civil servants required and the administrative cost of introducing a value added tax covering the same range of goods to which the tax is applicable in France and Germany, details of which are available to him through international sources;
(2) if he will give the comparison of the estimated cost of collecting the same 345W amount by a value added tax as is at present collected by Selective Employment Tax;
(3) if he will give the comparison of the estimated cost of collecting the same amount by a value added tax as is at present collected by Purchase Tax.
§ Mr. Harold LeverThe number of staff and administrative cost required to operate a value added tax would depend on its form and coverage, on which policy and practice varies from country to country. But the extra staff would have to run into several thousands and the corresponding administrative cost would necessarily be much higher than for Purchase Tax or Selective Employment Tax.