§ Mr. George Cunninghamasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the gain to the Revenue in each of the five years beginning with 1977–78 if tax relief on interest on house purchase and improvement loans were restricted to relief at a basic rate, but the charge did not apply to loans obtained before April 1977.
§ Mr. Denzil DaviesThe increase in yield for the current year, if mortgage relief were restricted to the basic rate, whatever the date of the mortgage, is estimated at £110 million. The effect in future years of a restriction which applied only to loans obtained after March 1977 would depend on a number996W of factors, including changes in house prices, mortgage interest rates, personal incomes, tax rates, allowances and rate bands, and also on the effect that the proposed restriction had on the future size and rate of turnover of mortgages.