§ Mr. Ashdownasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the latest available figures for those businesses recorded as owing value added tax to the Government in any one quarter and, in particular, in the following categories: those businesses with a turnover of less than £100,000, those with a turnover of less than £250,000, those businesses with a turnover of less than £500,000, those businesses with a turnover of less than £1,000,000 and those businesses with a turnover of £1,000,000 or more; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GowFor the period ended 31 August 1985: 390,149 businesses were required to pay VAT by the due date of 30 September 1985; 173,423 such businesses still owed tax 10 working days after the due date; the outstanding tax was assessed at £453 million.
The figure of £453 million is reasonably representative of the monthly value of assessments issued during this financial year. I regret that no figures are available of the amount of tax owed byb businesses according to category of turnover.