§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to his reply to the hon. Member for Woolwich, West (Mr. Bottomley) Official Report, 4th April, c. 353, if he will confirm that his latest estimate of the cost of not taxing social security benefits is £625 million; if he will date this estimate; and if he will publish a breakdown of the figure showing the different types of benefit involved.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonThe figure of £625 million given in my reply to the hon. Member for Woolwich, West (Mr. Bottomley) was an approximate estimate of the overall saving that would accrue with respect to people under 65 years of age under the kind of tax credit scheme specified in his Question. A substantial part of the saving would relate to the taxation of social security benefits. The 77W latest estimates of the possible revenue yield if sickness, unemployment and maternity benefits for 1976–77 were liable to tax are as follows:
These are approximate figures since the information on which to base precise calculations is not available.
£ million Sickness benefit … 160 Unemployment benefit … 180 Maternity allowance … 15
§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table showing the estimated total cost of tax refunds paid to recipients of social security benefits, in each year since 1965, and distinguishing between the main types of benefit.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonI regret that the information is not available.