Consumers' Expenditure

HC Deb 13 May 1970 vol 801 cc290-1W

64. Mr. Silvester

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of consumers' expenditure in Blue Book categories and Family Expenditure Survey categories for 1970–71 and 1971–72 as a basis for the formulation of the Government's taxation policy.

Mr. William Rodgers:

The formulation of taxation policy takes account of trends in the pattern of consumers' expenditure in so far as they can be foreseen. It is not. however, the custom to publish detailed forward estimates of individual items of expenditure which must be subject to a wide margin of error.

77. Sir Clive Bossom

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department used to forecast prospects for consumers' expenditure in 1970 and the first half of 1971 for the effect of a £ 100 million change in domestic credit expansion; and what is his estimate of the effect of this on his estimate of the tax revenue in 1970–71.

Mr. William Rodgers:

The forecast for consumers' expenditure was not based on any direct relationship with domestic credit expansion, and the effect on the forecast of a change in domestic credit expansion would depend on how the change was brought about. Nor is there any necessary relationship between domestic credit expansion and tax revenue.

83. Mr. David Howell

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the reconciliation for 1968 used by his Department for the detailed breakdown of consumers' expenditure as shown in Table 23 of the 1969 Blue Book with the different breakdown used in the 1968 Family Expenditure Survey when estimating the effect of his tax changes by family group and income size.

85. Mr. Kenneth Baker

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the detailed reconciliation between the schedule and yield of purchase tax as set out in the 1969 Customs and Excise Report with the detailed breakdown of consumers' expenditure and of family expenditure as used when his Department assesses the impact of purchase tax rate changes on different family groups and income levels.

Mr. William Rodgers:

No such reconciliation is necessary. The incidence of taxes on expenditure for different types of household and different income ranges is estimated directly from the detailed schedules of actual expenditure recorded by each household taking part in the Family Expenditure Survey.