§ Mrs. Clwydasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what advice the Inland Revenue gave to the Equal Opportunities Commission concerning the taxability of workplace nursery benefits;
(2) what advice the Inland Revenue has given to the Consumers' Association in relation to the taxation of workplace nurseries; and on what date the advice was given.
§ Mr. MooreThe Equal Opportunities Commission wrote to the Board of Inland Revenue on 2 February 1983484W to ask whether the advice in its manual "Setting-Up a Workplace Nursery" was correct. The board replied on 17 February explaining the proper tax treatment of employer subsidised nurseries in the hands of directors and those employees currently earning at a rate of £8,500 a year or more. The Inland Revenue have no record of having given any previous advice. Similar advice was given to the Consumers' Association on 24 November 1983 when an error in the "Which: Tax Guide" came to the board's attention.
§ Mrs. Clwydasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps the Inland Revenue takes to ensure that local tax officers' interpretation of the law relating to the taxability of workplace nurseries reflect the advice being issued by central departments of the Revenue.
§ Mr. HayhoeThe Board of Inland Revenue regularly issues advice and guidance to local tax offices on the correct tax treatment of various items as the need arises.
§ Mr. Rookerasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the current level for taxation of workplace nurseries and other benefits in kind if the level of 1948 had been maintained in real terms.
§ Mr. LawsonIf the 1948–49 earnings threshold for assessing benefits in kind in the hands of employees had been maintained by reference to movements in the Index of Retail Prices, it would now be about £22,500.