§ Mr. Gryllsasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated cost of collection of value added tax from registered traders having an annual turnover of (a) less than £50,000 and (b) less than £30,000; and what proportion each represents of the total cost of collection of value added tax.
§ Mr. Bruce-GardyneThe total cost to Customs and Excise of collecting VAT in 1980–81, averaged over the whole of the registered trading population, worked out at about £95 per registered person.
No reliable information is available about the cost of administration related to different categories of businesses; but the cost of collecting VAT from a small firm is believed to be less than the average for all businesses.