§ Mr. Nicholas BrownTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much tax was remitted or written-off as irrecoverable in 1979 and 1987; and what was(a) the amount written-off and (b) the number of taxpayers for whom the ground for non-payment was (i) that they had gone abroad, (ii) that they were untraceable, (iii) insolvency and (iv) hardship.
§ Mr. Norman LamontThe total amounts of tax remitted or written off as irrecoverable in 1979 and 1987 were:
316W
£ thousand 1979 60,310 1987 333,294 The amounts written off and number of taxpayers involved, where the grounds were (i) gone abroad, (ii) untraceable, (iii) insolvency and (iv) hardship were:
£ thousand Taxpayers 1979 (i) Gone abroad 4,631 2,491 (ii) Untraceable 14,179 23,680 (iii) Insolvency 32,564 23,032 (iv) Hardship 1,108 7,988 1987 (i) Gone abroad 9,683 2,678 (ii) Untraceable 51,448 41,067 (iii) Insolvency 241,290 68,868 (iv) Hardship 1,896 6,907