HC Deb 25 November 1987 vol 123 cc243-4W
Mr. Squire

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish figures for the numbers of lower-paid families with and without children, whose marginal tax rates including benefit withdrawal will be(a) 90 to 100 per cent., (b) 80 to 90 per cent., (c) 70 to 80 per cent., (d) 60 to 70 per cent., (e) 50 to 60 per cent, and (f) 40 to 50 per cent, after the implementation of the Social Security Act 1986 in April 1988, assuming that in 1988–89 personal tax allowances are raised in my line with inflation and the basic rate of tax is reduced to 25 per cent.

Mr. Scott

The main assumptions underlying the figures given in the table are, with the exception of a 25 per cent. basic rate of tax, the same as those mentioned in reply to my hon. Friend on 19 November. Since the estimates assume that employees' national insurance contributions are paid at 9 per cent., the figures include some overstatement and can indicate only broad orders of magnitude:

Total marginal rate of deduction (per cent.) per £1 of extra gross earnings
Thousands—Great Britain
Families with children Couples and single people without children
Above 90 60 10
80 but less than 90 350 10
70 but less than 80 80 20
60 but less than 70 1 0
50 but less than 60 0 0
40 but less than 50 2 2

Notes:

1.Main assumptions as in "Impact of the Reformed Structure of Income Related Benefits" published 27 October, except that standard of tax rate is assumed to be 25 per cent.

2.Heads of tax-units only.

1Means less than 5,000.

2Means not readily available.

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