§ Mr. Parkasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will give details of the main staffing implications of the Finance (Income Taxes) Bill; and the extent to which, after the proposals have been taken into account, less staff would be required by any reduction in the number of taxpayers.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonThe cost of bringing the new rates of personal allowance into operation will amount in 1977–78 to the equivalent of about 1,100 man 355W years of work. But the decision to exempt from tax for 1977–78 the increases in national insurance retirement pensions which are payable from this month will save about 300 man years, so that the net cost will be about 800 man years.
If the increase in allowances had not been made the Inland Revenue would have needed about 600 more units of staff in 1978–79 than will now be the case, because a further 900,000 people would have been liable to tax and about 90,000 more would have been liable at both basic and higher rates of tax.