HC Deb 14 November 1988 vol 140 cc522-5W
Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, further to his replies dated 19 October,Official Report, columns 929–30 and 939–42, concerning income taxes in France, Italy and Germany, he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for each country the average earnings of (i) adult male and (ii) adult female workers, or their nearest equivalent, in terms of its currency at the latest date for which figures are published locally.

Mr. Norman Lamont

The OECD publication "The Tax/Benefit Position of Production Workers 1983–1986" gives the following details of the earnings of "average production workers" in each of the countries mentioned for 1986 (the figures cover both male and female workers):

Average earnings
France F 86,970
Italy L 17,659,727
Germany DM 38,852

Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, further to his replies dated 19 October,Official Report, columns 929–30 and 939–42, concerning income taxes in France, Italy and Germany, he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for each country in terms of its currency the distribution of incomes for tax purposes at the latest date for which figures are published locally.

Mr. Norman Lamont

I am afraid that this information is not readily available. It may be obtainable from statistical publications, for example "Annuaire Statistique de la France", in the countries mentioned.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what percentage of the revenue from income tax will be paid by the top(a) 1 per cent. and (b) 5 per cent. of incomes in the current financial year compared to 1978–79; and what are the corresponding figures for income before tax;

(2) what is his estimate of the number of single parents and the number of their children; how many are widows and with how many children; how many are covered by one-parent benefit and the child dependency addition and at what cost to the revenue; whether either or both of these benefits are taxable; and how many single parents claiming the additional personal income-tax allowance do not claim one-parent benefit or child dependency addition, and at what saving to the Revenue;

(3) if he has come to a decision on the option in paragraph 4.15 of Cmnd. 9756 of converting the additional personal income tax allowance into increased social security provision; and if he will provide an estimate of (a) the amount of revenue which could be transferred to the social security budget in this way and (b) what increase in benefits would be required to ensure that nobody is worse off as a result of the change;

(4) whether he has come to a decision on the option in paragraph 4.16 of Cmnd. 9756 of restricting the additional personal income tax allowance to those in receipt of one-parent and other appropriate benefits; and if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing what the effect of such a change would be in terms of the number of allowances claimed and the savings to the reveue;

(5) what is his estimate of the amount of the mortgage taken out by the median mortgagee claiming mortgage interest relief, the increease since May in the rate of interest, the amount of interest payable in a full year, and the total amount of relief at the standard rate payable in a full year at the standard rate of income tax.

(6) what was the economic case for reducing income tax on investment income in the case of those with an income in excess of the ceiling below which there is an entitlement to income support; and if he will publish in the Official Report an estimate of the saving to the revenue from increasing the tax on investment income by eight percentage points;

(7) what is the percentage of the increase in tax relief in 1988 for people of working age which will go to two-earner married couples; and what is the corresponding figure in the case of his proposals for separate taxation of men and women on the present tax basis;

(8) what is the current married man's tax threshold as a percentage of adult manual workers' average earnings currently as calculated in chart 2.4 of Cmnd. 9756; and what is his latest estimate of the number of families who would now receive at least 80 per cent. of their present income if they did not work at all;

(9) in what respects his latest proposals for separate taxation of husbands and wives differ in principle from those given in paragraph 3.4 of Cmnd. 9756; and what is the gain-loss to the revenue from the change at current tax and allowance levels;

(10) whether he will publish in the Official Report the months since May 1979 in which average building society mortgage rates were below 10 per cent.; what has been the average charged in the previous two decades; and if he will consider imposing an upper limit to mortgage interest relief if and when the average rate falls below 10 per cent. to reduce the amount of relief by one fifth for each half per cent. fall in the rate of interest;

(11) if, further to paragraphs 12 and 13 of annex 4 to Cmnd. 9756, he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the changes in the number paying tax and average gain or loss in each case as a result his revised proposals at current rates of income and tax;

(12) what is the net gain or loss to the revenue from (a) reducing the standard rate of income tax by 5 pence (b) raising the ceiling for means-tested income support by 25 per cent. and (c) increasing the state pension by 10 per cent.;

(13) what relative priority the Government accords to (a) further reductions in income tax and (b) an increase in means-tested social security benefits as a means of reducing dependency;

(14) how many single parents are expected to claim the additional personal income-tax allowance for 1988–89 and how many are widows; how many single parents claim one-parent benefit and how many widows with children receive a child dependency addition in respect of how many children; to what extent these two benefits have been increased to take account of the reduction in the real value of child benefit and the effect of inflation on the amounts payable in March 1986; and if he will bring up to date the benefit figures quoted in paragraph 4.10 of Cmnd. 9756;

(15) whether he proposes to extend the proposed married couple's income-tax allowance to single parents in the form of an additional personal income-tax allowance when separate taxation of husbands and wives is introduced in 1990–91;

(16) how much is paid by the top 5 per cent. of taxpayers in employees' national insurance contributions; and what would be the gain to the revenue by removing the upper earnings limit;

(17) whether he will publish in the Official Report a table comparing the changes in the numbers paying tax and the average gain or loss in each case with his revised proposals at current rates of income tax along the lines of paragraph 9 and 11 of annex 4 Cmnd. 9756;

(18) whether he will publish in the Official Report the relevant allowances referred to in annex 7 of Cmnd. 9756 in each case in terms of local currency and as a percentage of average adult male earnings or the nearest available equivalent together with the marginal and average rates of tax for single persons and one-earner married couples with such earnings; and if he will add (a) the average and marginal rates for a two-earner married couple where the wife's earnings are the average for an adult female and (b) the amount of child benefit or child allowance;

(19) whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the figures in table 11 of annex 4 of Cmnd. 9756 and those applicable under his revised scheme at current rates of income and tax; and if he will provide separate figures for (a) higher-rate taxpayers and (b) those who have opted for the wife's earnings election where neither spouse is currently subject to higher-rate tax;

(20) whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the figures in table 10 of annex 4 of Cmnd. 9756 showing those applicable under his revised scheme at current rates of income and tax;

(21) whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the figures in paragraph 19 and table 8 of annex 4 of Cmnd. 9756 and those applicable under his revised scheme at current rates of income and tax;

(22) whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the figures in paragraph 20 and table 9 of annex 4 of Cmnd. 9756 and those applicable under his revised scheme at current rates of income and tax;

(23) whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the figures in chart 6.1 of Cmnd. 9756 against the current position and that proposed for 1990–91 at present rates;

(24) if he will give a breakdown of the marital status of those caught in the poverty and employment traps; what effect his proposals for the separate taxation of husbands and wives will have on the numbers caught in each trap; and whether he will publish in the Official Report figures for his revised proposals corresponding to those in chart 3.2 of Cmnd. 9756 on the Green Paper basis and on the present basis together with the number of low-earning households which will be worse off than at present as a result of the restriction on the transfer of any part of the husband's personal allowance to the wife.

Mr. Norman Lamont

Given the short notice and imminence of prorogation, I am unable to reply to the hon. Member's questions in the time available.

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