§ Mr. George Cunninghamasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list all the short-term social security benefits which do not constitute income for income tax purposes; what is the total annual expenditure on each; and what is his estimate of the gain to the Revenue if each were made taxable.
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§ Mr. Robert Sheldon, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 7th February 1977; Vol. 925, c. 517] gave the following answer:
The short-term benefits which do not constitute income for income tax purposes are sickness benefit, unemployment benefit, maternity allowance and industrial injury benefit. The figures for 1976–77 are as follows:
£ million Expenditure Estimated revenue if the benefit was taxable Sickness benefit … 505 160 Unemployment benefit … 570 180 Maternity allowance … 50 15 Industrial injury benefit … 45 15
§ Mr. Pardoeasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the additional revenue which would be obtained by taxing short-term national insurance and supplementary benefits; and what would be the loss in revenue of not taxing long-term benefits such as pensions.
§ Mr. Robert Sheldon, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 7th February 1977; Vol. 925, c. 518], circulated the following answer:
Information on which to base a precise calculation is not available, but it is estimated that tax on national insurance, unemployment, sickness and industrial injury benefits and maternity allowance would be about £370 million in 1976–77. It is not possible to provide an estimate for supplementary benefit as there is insufficient information about the other income of beneficiaries. If national insurance retirement and widows' pensions were exempt from tax, the loss of revenue in 1976–77 would be about £500 million.