§ Mr. Crawfordasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he or his Department has had with their counterparts in the Republic of Ireland concerning the effects in that country of the abolition of vehicle excise duty on cars up to 2,000cc without a corresponding increase in petrol tax.
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§ Mr. Robert Sheldon:No formal discussions have been held. The Irish experience is not directly relevant to the present proposal to replace vehicle excise duty on petrol-driven vehicles with increased petrol taxation, since in Ireland the lost revenue was not recouped from other taxation.
§ Mr. Crawfordasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the cost to the Exchequer of the abolition of vehicle excise duty without any increase in petrol tax.
§ Mr. Robert Sheldon:The direct loss to the Exchequer from abolition of vehicle excise duty on petrol-driven vehicles would be £840 million in the current year.