HC Deb 15 April 1985 vol 77 c36W
Mr. Wrigglesworth

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the total of net receipts of tax from self-employed taxpayers for each of the last five financial years.

Mr. Moore

The available information relates to tax units (ie counting married couples as one unit) whose main source of income — usually but not always the largest source—is self-employment income, and is in terms of the total liability to income tax in each tax year including investment income surcharge and the liability on income taxed at source.

Year £ billion
1980–81 2.6
1981–82 3.1
1982–83 3.5
1983–84* 3.5
1984–85* 4
* Provisional estimate.

The tax will normally be received partly in the tax year and partly in the following year.

Over the period from mid 1980 to mid-1984 the number of self-employed person is estimated to have grown by almost a quarter.