§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will provide figures for(a) the number of individuals and (b) the number of families facing marginal tax rates in excess of (i) 70 per cent., (ii) 8(1 per cent., and (iii) 90 per cent. from 1973 to the present day.
§ Dr. CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish estimates of the numbers of individuals or families facing marginal tax rates in excess of 70 per cent., 80 per cent., 90 per cent., 100 per cent., and above 100 per cent., for each year from 1979–80 to 1988–89.
§ Mr. Peter Lloyd[holding answer 11 April 1989]: Table 15.15 on page 16 of Cm. 615 sets out estimates for November 1985 and April 1988. Information on the numbers of individuals and families by different marginal deduction rates is not available for earlier years. I also refer the hon. Members to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Hornchurch (Mr. Squire) on 17 February, at column 393. The table sets out the latest estimates of the numbers of working heads who might face combined rates of deduction of 70 per cent. or more. The figures reflect the March 1989 Budget and include the effects of the employees' national insurance reform which takes effect in October.
95W
Combined marginal income tax and benefit withdrawal rates 1989–90 Working heads of tax units (000) Great Britain numbers facing
combined rates of over 70 per cent.—in bands
Families with children Couples and single people Total Over 100 per cent. — — — Over 90 per cent. 40 5 45 Over 80 per cent. 195 15 210 Over 70 per cent. 365 50 415 Notes:
1. Marginal deduction rates shown are for heads of tax units in receipt of family credit/housing benefit where at least one partner works 24 hours or more a week.
2. All estimates are for 1989–90 and are based on combined 1985 and 1986 family expenditure survey data and are consistent with this year's Government expenditure White Paper.
3. Some totals may not sum because of rounding.
4. Denotes an estimate of fewer than 2,500.
5. The total number of working heads of tax-units with more than 24-weekly remunerative hours is approximately 17 million. Those shown in the table therefore represent only 2.5 per cent. of the total.
Proportion of gross income derived from original income1 Proportion of gross income derived from Retirement Pension and income-related benefits Average gross weekly income Percentage Percentage £ All pensioners tax units2 Lowest Q1 8 90 56.90 Q2 11 86 67.00 Q3 16 80 71.10 Q4 36 57 94.90 Highest Q5 72 25 203.50 All 42 55 98.68 All single pensioners Lowest Q1 7 92 45.10 Q2 9 89 53.50 Q3 11 87 60.60 Q4 25 69 71.10 Highest Q5 67 29 146.30 All 34 62 75.30 Single men over pension age Lowest Q1 9 91 48.30 Q2 11 88 55.40 Q3 14 86 61.50 Q4 38 59 77.90 Highest Q5 74 24 170.40 All 42 56 82.60 Single women over pension age Lowest Q1 6 92 44.30 Q2 8 90 53.00 Q3 10 87 60.10 Q4 22 72 70.20 Highest Q5 63 31 138.80 All 32 64 73.30 1 Original income consists of occupational and personal pensions, income from savings and investment, and any earnings from employment or self-employment. 2 A pensioner tax unit is a single person of state pension age or over, or a married couple where the man is of state pension age or over. Each group has been divided into quintiles on the basis of equivalised gross income.