§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table in the Official Report analysing, as far as possible, by sectors corresponding to those in table 16 of Command Paper No. 7439, the estimated cost in £ million, in 1978-79 of direct tax allowances and reliefs in England, Scotland, Wales and the United Kingdom, respectively.
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§ Mr. Robert SheldonI regret that it are based upon the information readily is not possible to give most of the information requested. The following figures
ESTIMATED COST FOR 1978–79 OF DIRECT TAX ALLOWANCES AND RELIEF million Tax provision England Wales Scotland United Kingdom Income tax: Relief for: Self employed: retirement annuity premiums 60 2½ 7 70 Life assurance premiums 225 10 20 260 Interest on loans for purchase or improvement of owner-occupied etc. property 1,100 45 55 1,110 Capital transfer tax: Exemption of transfers to charities on death 20 2 22 Stamp duty: Transfers of houses or other property (not stocks and shares): Reduced rates under £30,000 70 5 75 For many of the costs in table 16 of the White Paper reliable estimates for the separate countries cannot be obtained; for others they could be obtained only by the expenditure of undue time and resources.
As a guide in assessing the likely order of magnitude of the breakdown into indi-
1976–77 United Kingdom Wales scotland Northern Ireland England Number of taxpayers (millions) … … 21.3 1.0 1.8 0.4 18.1 Total income tax (£millions) … … 18.3 0.7 1.5 0.3 15.8 Source: Survey of Personal Incomes for 1976–77, the latest available.