§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Social Services, if invalidity benefit were liable to tax, what income tax would be paid in tax year 1980–81 by (a) a single person, (b) a married couple whose sole income consisted of (i) invalidity pension alone, (ii) invalidity pension together with the lower rate of invalidity allowance, (iii) invalidity pension with the middle rate of invalidity allowance and (iv) invalidity pension with the higher rate of invalidity allowance; and what income tax would be paid by the same categories if the up-rating of invalidity pension in November were 16½ per cent. and not 11½ per cent.
Mr. PeterRees [pursuant to his reply, 24 April 1980, c. 272–3]: The income tax that would be paid, given the assumptions in the question, is shown in the table below.
transfer the total cost to general taxation would require the addition of about 3 percentage points to the rate of value added tax, or alternatively of 2½p on the basic rate of income tax. This excludes the cost of a pay claim to take effect from 1 April which is now under negotiation.