§ Mr. Willeyasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish an up-to-date table to show the amounts of Members' expenses allowed for income tax purposes against their remuneration as Members of Parliament.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonI shall let my right hon. Friend have a reply as soon as possible.
INCOME TAX LIABILITY AS PERCENTAGE OF GROSS AVERAGE EARNINGS Country Single person Married couple Married couple plus 2 children Belgium … … … … 11.6 (12.3) 11.0(11.7) 8.2 (8.7) Canada … … … … 14.1 (18.9) 10.6(14.3) 9.7(13.1) Denmark … … … … 22.5(39.4) 18.9(33.9) 18.1 (32.3) France … … … … 7.7 2.6 Nil Germany … … … … 18.5 12.3 9.5 Ireland … … … … 20.2 16.2 11.2 Italy … … … … 5.1 4.0 4.1 Japan … … … … 6.4 (9.8) 5.1 (7.9) 2.8 (4.6) Luxembourg … … … … 14.9 8.8 4.7 Netherlands … … … … 15.1 13.0 10.7 Sweden … … … … 13.7(35.8) 9.3(31.3) 8.5(28.9) United Kingdom … … … … 24.9 21.8 15.7 USA … … … … 14.8(19.7) 11.5(15.6) 8.9(10.9) Notes:
1. Figures are based on the 1974 annual earnings of an average production worker. Source: OECD Revenue Statistics 1976. These are the most recent international statistics available.
2. The ages of the children are taken to be between five and twelve: this follows the information given in the OECD statistics.
3. Rates of tax and allowances are broadly those applying in 1974.
4. For married couples the income is assumed to be all employment income of the husband.
5. Family benefits or cash transfers where appropriate have been included in gross earnings.
6. Figures in brackets include typical local income taxes.
§ Mr. Cormackasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the estimated loss to the revenue in the current year if the highest rate of tax on (a) earned and (b) unearned income were 50 per cent., 60 per cent. and 70 per cent. respectively.
§ Mr. Robert Sheldon,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 30th January 1978; Vol. 943, c. 24], gave the following information:
Income tax is charged on total taxable income regardless of the source of the income, and there are difficulties in distinguishing the proportion of tax relating to income from any one source. On the assumption that earned income represents