§ Mr. Ernie Rossasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many taxpayers there are in Scotland; how many are subject to higher rates of taxation above the standard rate; and if he will provide a breakdown in each case for administrative units within Scotland.
§ Mr. Peter ReesEstimates of the numbers of taxpayers in Scotland and in the Scottish regions for the income tax year 1977–78, the latest for which data are available, are given in the table below. The classification relates to the place of residence of the taxpayers—or, if self-employed, to the place of business.
next three years, why the Treasury is issuing a long tap stock at 13½ per cent. 2004–8 instead of index-linking the stock with a real yield of 1 per cent.
§ Mr. Lawson[pursuant to his reply, 21 April 1980, c. 22]: The authorities 143W keep under review the range of debt instruments available. There was some discussion of the possibility of index-linked marketable Government securities in an article on the gilt-edged market in the June 1979 Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin. If the Government were to issue such stock this could, as the article pointed out, have a substantial impact on financial markets and the flow of funds in the economy. The question of index-linking in this area must therefore be considered in a wider context
CONSUMER PRICES INDICES 1979 1980 November December January February (a) Food prices*— Belgium†‡ … … … 102.5 102.8 103.8 — Denmark … … … 104.8 104.8 — — France† … … … 104.8 105.5 106.7 — Irish Republic§ … … … 103.3 — — — Italy … … … 106.2 107.7 — — Luxembourg‡ … … … 101.2 101.6 — — Netherlands† … … … 101.1 101.4 102.4 — United Kingdom … … … 107.5 108.7 110.8 — West Germany|| … … … 100.3 100.7 102.0 — (b) All items— Belgium … … … 103.2 103.6 105.1 105.8 Denmark … … … 107.8 108.1 108.9 110.1 France … … … 106.0 106.8 108.9 110.2 Irish Republic§ … … … 107.9 — — — Italy … … … 109.0 111.0 114.5 116.4 Luxembourg¶ … … … 103.1 103.5 104.1 104.9 Netherlands … … … 102.5 102.6 102.8 103.3 United Kingdom … … … 110.0 110.9 113.6 115.0 West Germany … … … 102.2 102.6 103.1 104.2 Notes—Not available. * Including meals in restaurants, etc. † Including beverages. ‡ Excluding restaurant meals. § Quarterly index. ║ Including beverages and tobacco. ¶ Excluding rent and restaurant meals. Sources:
OECD Main Economic Indicators.
Eurostatistics Data for Short-Term Economic Analysis.
Any inter-country comparisons should be made with caution since the figures are not compiled on a standardised basis, and methods may vary among countries.