§ Mr. Fauldsasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what will be the procedure for publishing sales of works of art and antiques over a value of £4,000 sold in the United Kingdom after the introduction of value added tax.
§ Mr. HigginsNo special action is proposed. Sales by auction of major works of art and antiques are normally given wide publicity in the national Press.
§ Mr. Trewasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the rates of VAT in each of the nine member countries of the EEC and in Norway, Sweden and Austria.
§ Mr. HigginsMy understanding of the position is as follows:
Country … Rates of VAT (percentages) Belgium … 25; 18; 14; 6 Denmark … 15 France … 33⅓20; 17.6; 7 West Germany … 11; 5.5 Ireland … 30.26; 16.37; 11.11;5.26 Italy … 18; 12; 6* Luxembourg … 10; 5; 2 Netherlands … 16; 4 United Kingdom … 10 Norway … 20 Sweden … 17.65 Austria … 16; 8 * In addition Italy has temporary rates of 9. 3 and 1 per cent.
§ Mr. Cormackasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to ensure that repairs to listed buildings are zero rated for the purposes of VAT.
§ Mr. HigginsNo.