HC Deb 29 July 1988 vol 138 cc723-4W
Mr. Grocott

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much tax was paid by businesses in the latest year for which figures are available as a proportion of all tax revenue and as a proportion of national income, respectively; and what were the corresponding figures for France, West Germany, Japan and the United States of America.

Mr. Brooke

Data on total taxes paid by all types of business are not available. OECD has published figures for 1985 showing taxes on corporate income as percentages of total tax and GDP. They are as follows:

Total Tax GDP
Per cent. Per cent.
United Kingdom 12.9 4.9
France 4.3 1.9
West Germany 6.1 2.3
Japan 21.0 5.9
USA 7.1 2.1

Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish in theOfficial Report a table showing the basic rate of corporation, and so on, taxes in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries and the amount collected in company taxation per head of the population in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Mr. Brooke

The information is given in the table, which is supplemented by explanatory notes.

Company tax rate Tax per head of population
per cent. £
Australia 39 194
Austria 55 87
Belgium 43 187
Canada 28 241
Denmark 50 164
Finland 33 97
France 42 126

Company lax rate Tax per head of population
per cent. £
Germany 56 170
Greece 49 32
Iceland 51 not available
Ireland 50 48
Italy 36 197
Japan 42 398
Luxembourg 36 675
Netherlands 42 200
New Zealand 28 162
Norway 50.8 640
Portugal 45 not available
Spain 35 68
Sweden 52 126
Switzerland 9.8 156
Turkey 47.8 38
United Kingdom 35 305
USA 34 190

Notes:

1. The rates of company tax shown are the latest enacted.

2. Lower rates apply to distributed profits in Austria, Germany, Japan, Norway and Portugal. No tax is charged on distributed profits in Greece.

3. There are lower rates for smaller companies in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, United Kingdom and USA. There are also lower rates for manufacturing companies in Canada and Ireland and for public companies in Greece.

4. There are in addition local income taxes on companies in Austria, Canada, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and USA.

5. The figures for company tax per head are for 1985, the most recent year for which information is available. They have been converted to sterling using purchasing power parities.

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