§ Sir William Clarkasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the extra amount of revenue that would accrue to the Exchequer if stock relief were abolished: and what reduction could be made in the rate of corporation tax if this extra revenue were to be available.
§ Mr. Peter ReesIt is estimated that the additional corporation tax that would have accrued to the Revenue for company accounting periods ending in financial year 1978–79 in the absence of stock relief was of the order of £1,200 million.
An unchanged total tax yield could probably have been obtained with a reduction in the rate of corporation tax in the region of 10 percentage points. The actual amount would depend on a number of factors which cannot be quantified; it could also vary considerably from year to year. The change would, of course, bring about a considerable shift in tax burden between companies.