§ Mr. Bestasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are now paying income tax who were not subject to income tax in May 1979.
§ Mr. RidleyI regret that information in the form requested cannot be provided. Figures are not available of the number paying tax in a particular month, but only of those liable to income tax in respect of their income for the entire fiscal year. Nor is it possible, from the sample of data on which estimates are based, to link individual tax records from one year to the next so as to estimate the number of those individuals who are liable to tax in one fiscal year but who were not liable in a previous fiscal year.
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§ Mr. Rookerasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the numbers given in each of his Budget Statements since assuming office in respect of the numbers taken out of income tax; and if he will give the number of taxpayers for each of those years.
§ Mr. Ridley[pursuant to his reply, 2 March 1982, c. 112]: Only one of my right hon. Friend's Budget Statements, in June 1979, contained a reference to the number taken out of income tax. He then said
As a result of the increase in the tax thresholds, 1.3 million people who would otherwise have paid tax this year will not be required to do so."—[Official Report, 12 June 1979; Vol. 968, c. 261.]Numbers of taxpayers—counting taxpaying wives separately—are provisionally estimated as follows:
Millions 1979–80 25.9 1980–81 25.8 1981–82 26.1