§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with whom during the last 18 months the Inland Revenue has discussed the issue of individuals and groups who withhold or divert tax on the grounds of conscientious objection to paying for military expenditure through their taxes; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. Norman Lamont[holding answer 11 January 1988]: There has been correspondence between the Inland Revenue and such individuals and groups.
No part of any individual's taxes can be said to fund a particular item of public expenditure. Thus, the general obligation to pay taxes should not involve an issue of conscience for the individual taxpayer. In any event, parliamentary sovereignty would be undermined if individuals were able to choose whether or not to accept Parliament's decision on the overall public expenditure programme.