§ Mr. Pardoeasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate for the current tax year and for 1975–76 the revenue forgone by the allowance for a contribution to an approved superannuation or retirement pension scheme, and the percentage of this which is at higher rates of tax.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonThe latest information upon which to base estimates comes from the Government Actuary's Survey of Occupational Pension Schemes for 1971. For 1971–72, estimates of the costs of tax relief are as follows:
£ million On employees' contributions 155 On employees' contributions 290 Employers' contributions are deductible as a business expense in computing business profits. This estimate is of the additional tax which might have been payable had they not been deductible.
No estimate is available for the surtax component.