§ Mr. Patrick McNair-Wilsonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the estimated cost to each current income tax payer of transferring the total cost of all local government spending to the central Exchequer.
§ Mr. KingI have been asked to reply. The yield of domestic rates in Great Britain in 1979–80 was approximately £2.8 billion and the yield of non-domestic rates was approximately £4 billion. If the yield from both domestic and non-domestic rates had been raised instead from individiuals who paid income tax, the average burden would have been of the order of £260 per taxpayer.