§ Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the latest estimate of the annual rate of inflation, as measured by the tax and price index.
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§ Mr. HayhoeIn October 1981 the level of the tax and price index was 158.2—Jartuary 1978 = 100. In October 1982 it stood at 169.9, an increase of 7.4 per cent. on a year earlier.
The year-on-year increase in the tax and price index is not a measure of the annual rate of inflation as such. This is better provided by the RPI itself. The tax and price index provides a guide to the average increase in gross taxable income needed to compensate taxpayers for an increase in retail prices.