HL Deb 05 June 1980 vol 409 cc1728-9WA
Lord KALDOR

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they are able to give figures for the percentage of income payable in indirect taxation in 1979–80 and 1980–81 on a comparable basis to those given in the Written Answer of 9th July 1979.

The MINISTER of STATE, TREASURY (Lord Cockfield)

The figures below are derived using the same procedure and, insofar as they are relevant to the indirect tax calculations, those assumptions and definitions specified in the question answered on 9th July 1979. However, these figures are based on the expenditure data contained in the 1978 Family Expenditure Survey (FES); whereas those given in the written answer of 9th July 1979 were based on the 1977 FES—the latest source of expenditure data at that time.

Indirect taxes per cent.
1979–80 1980–81
2/3 average earnings 14.5 15.4
Average earnings … 12.4 13.1
1½ average earnings 11.0 11.8

The differences between these figures and those contained in the written answer on 28th April 1980 are explained by the fact that the latter were derived using a different and updated procedure for relating the expenditure patterns of individual households to given average levels of gross income. I am writing to the noble Lord in more detail on this point.