§ Mr. Gouldasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what tax reliefs are provided to encourage industry to invest, and what effect they have, in conjunction with other tax matters such as stock appreciation relief, on the tax burdens of the individual company and the corporate sector as a whole.
§ Mr. Robert Sheldon, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 21st October 1976; Vol 917, c. 420], gave the following answer:
Industrial investment in fixed capital assets qualifies for accelerated tax depreciation allowances; in the case of plant and machinery, 100 per cent. of the cost can be written off for tax purposes in the year in which the expenditure is incurred. I cannot say what effect these allowances or stock relief, have on the tax burden of individual companies since this depends upon the company's particular circumstances.
The effect of the accelerated allowances on the tax payments of the corporate sector as a whole also depends to the extent to which they can currently be used by the companies concerned against profits 61W Reduction in net payments of corporation tax due to stock relief has, however, been estimated at approximately £720 million in 1974–75, £1,465 million in 1975–76 and £815 million in 1976–77.