§ Mr. ButlerTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to reduce the percentage of earnings taken in income tax, national insurance contributions and indirect taxes below the level pertaining in 1978–79.
§ Mr. Norman Lamont[holding answer 16 December 1987]: The Government have already succeeded in reducing the percentage of earnings taken in taxes and national insurance contributions from the levels reached in 1981–82. Those levels reflected the need at that time to give priority to the control of public borrowing. It remains the Government's aim to bring taxes down further when prudent to do so.
§ Mr. MaclennanTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much income tax was repaid to children under 18 years of age as a result of tax claims made on their behalf for the 1985–86 financial year.
§ Mr. Norman Lamont[holding answer 16 December 1987]: I regret that this information is not available centrally.
§ Dr. MarekTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the number of persons paying tax under schedule D for the last 10 years for which information is available.
§ Mr. Norman Lamont[holding answer 14 December 1987]: The information readily available for a full 10-year period covers those who were both liable to tax on their total income and had a source of schedule D case I or II (self-employment) income. Where husband and wife in a taxpaying couple each has a source of schedule D case I or II income, they are counted separately in the table:
Year Number of persons (million) 1976–77 1.9 1977–78 1.9 1978–79 2.0 1979–80 2.0 1980–81 2.0 1981–82 2.1 1982–83 2.2 1983–84 2.2 1984–85 2.3 1985–86 2.4