§ Mr. Meacherasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why he has ceased giving estimates every two years or so of changes in income distribution in view of the increasing amount of estimation required to produce calendar year figures on a national accounts basis, when the constant drop of the tax threshold since 1938 relative to average earnings has continually reduced the number of incomes below the tax threshold level about which estimates have to be made.
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§ Mr. Nott, pursuant to his reply [OFF1CAL REPORT, 18th October, 1973], gave the following information—
Figures for successive financial years of the distribution of personal incomes above the tax deduction card limit are published in "Inland Revenue Statistics". Estimates for calendar years on the national accounts basis were discontinued because data was insufficient to estimate the distribution of incomes below the tax deduction card limit, which has increased over the years from £3 per week in 1948–49 to £11.50 per week in 1973–74 and to allocate to ranges of income certain social security benefits which are not liable to tax.
As a proportion of the total population over school leaving age—counting married couples as one—the number of incomes covered in the available Inland Revenue estimates of income distribution has remained in the region of 75–80 per cent., and has shown no persistent tendency either to increase or to decrease.