§ Mr. Ieuan Wyn JonesTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many taxpayers there are in each of the income tax bands in each of the English regions, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland; and in each case what proportion of the total number of income tax payers in each region they represent.
§ Mr. Norman LamontThe latest information available by region relates to 1985–86. In the table, married couples are counted as one unit, members of Her Majesty's forces and the Merchant Navy are excluded, and tax liability is measured before allowing for mortgage interest relief given at source. Estimates of the numbers with a marginal rate of 40 per cent. or higher, whilst shown to the nearest thousand, are in many cases based on small samples; where this means that the actual number may be more than about one third higher or lower than shown in the table, the numbers are shown in brackets. The corresponding percentages should also be treated with particular caution.