§ Mr. Hordernasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table showing the proportion of income liable to taxation for a married man with two children under 11 years, earning the average wage, and a separate table showing the top marginal rate he has to pay, in each of the last 20 years.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonThe figures are as follows:
The income figures used are average earnings plus family allowance or child benefit.916W
Year Proportion of income liable to taxation Per cent. Marginal rate Per cent. 1958–59 12.4 23.75 1959–60 15.7 21.25 1960–61 19.8 21.25 1961–62 21.8 21.25 1962–63 23.6 21.25 1963–64 13.6 30.00 1964–65 18.4 30.00 1965–66 22.9 30.00 1966–67 24.8 30.00 1967–68 27.4 41.25 1968–69 34.7 41.25 1969–70 35.7 41.25 1970–71 34.4 41.25 1971–72 33.7 38.75 1972–73 31.8 38.75 1973–74 48.6 30.00 1974–75 50.8 33.00 1975–76 57.0 35.00 1976–77 55.0 35.00 1977–78 52.3 34.00 1978–79 (October) 57.6 33.00 ham area and their estimated cost is as follows:
For years up to 1969–70, the average earnings are the annual equivalents of the average weekly earnings of manual male workers aged 21 and over in manufacturing and certain other industries at October in each year. For 1970–71 to 1977–78, the figures are based on the averages of the new earnings survey estimates of the average earnings of full-time adult male manual workers at the start and finish of each tax year.
The assumed level of average earnings for 1978–79 has been obtained by updating to October 1978 the new earnings survey estimate of average earnings of full-time men in April, taking account of movements in a centred three-month moving average of the whole-economy index of average earnings of all employees.