HC Deb 10 June 1969 vol 784 cc239-40W
73. Mr. John Smith

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity what is her latest estimate of the effect of the selective employment tax on employment in the service industries overall and, separately, by categories, on an annual basis since June, 1966, to the latest date for which figures are available.

Mr. Hattersley

The figures in the following table relate to net percentage changes in employment in industries which bear selective employment tax. These do not coincide with service industries as normally defined for statistical purposes. It is not possible to isolate the changes in employment attributable to S.E.T. from changes which may be due to other causes, although S.E.T. was clearly a major factor.

percentage changes
Tax bearing industries 1966–67 1967–68 1966–68
Construction -5.6 -2.6 -8.0
Distributive trades -4.3 -0.9 -5.2
of which:
retail distribution -4.8 -1.3 -6.1
Insurance, banking and finance +1.4 +2.7 +4.1
Professional and Scientific Services (part) +0.5 +3.3 +3.8
Miscellaneous Services -3.7 -0.6 -4.4
Total tax bearing industries -3.7 -0.7 -4.3