§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of the cost of tax refunds to recipients of short-term national insurance benefits and supplementary benefits, and of the value of revenue forgone as a result of the non-taxation of these benefits.
§ Mr. Robert Sheldon:No estimate is available of the cost of such refunds, since no analysis is kept of the circumstances which cause PAYE repayments.
Estimates of the potential yield of tax on short-term benefits are tentative since the information on which to base reliable calculations is not available. The latest estimates based on expenditure for 1978–79 in Great Britain calculated at benefit rates applied during the year, are as follows:
£million Unemployment benefit 170* Sickness benefit 190 Industrial injury benefit 15 Maternity allowance 20 * Provisional The estimate for unemployment benefit is rather lower than that produced on the 66W same basis as for earlier years. This results from more detailed research which has recently been done. Some validation of the new work is still continuing and I will write to the hon. Member if any revision to the provisional estimate is called for.
No estimate is available of the potential yield of tax on supplementary benefit.