§ Mr. BeithTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the 1 per cent. forecast increase in the retail price index attributed to the community charge arises from charge levels in excess of the Government's recommended poll tax figure.
§ Mr. Norman Lamont[holding answer 26 March 1990]: If local authorities had spent in line with standard spending
862W
Range of total income of individual (£ per annum) Loss due to freezing of higher rate threshold (£ million) Percentage of total tax loss Total taxpayers (000s) Percentage of total taxpayers in range Total NIC payers (000s) Percentage total NIC payers in range Less than 5,000 — — 2,960 11.5 3,660 15.4 5,000 to 7,500 — — 4,290 16.6 3,580 15.0 7,500 to 10,000 — — 4,330 16.8 3,820 16.0 10,000 to 12,500 — — 3,420 13.3 2,990 12.5 12,500 to 15,000 — — 2,980 11.6 2,730 11.5 15,000 to 20,000 — — 3,760 14.6 3,450 14.5 20,000 to 30,000 60 15.8 2,630 10.2 2,390 10.0 30,000 to 50,000 230 60.5 1,010 3.9 910 3.8 Over 50,000 90 23.7 390 1.5 330 1.4 TOTAL 380 100.0 25,770 100.0 23,870 100.0 in England and Wales, and with total current expenditure in Scotland, the average community charge in Great Britain would have been around £266. This would have meant an increase of only about 0.1 per cent. in the level of the retail prices index.