§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the maximum number of individuals who have owned shares in each of the privatised companies; and how many individuals currently hold shares in those companies.
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Company Date of Privatisation Size of share register Initial Highest since Privatisation Current1 British Petroleum 2December 1977 67,750 6,212,000 (December 1988) British Aerospace 3February 1981 155,000 120,200 (December 1986) 105,800 (December 1988) Cable and Wireless 4October 1981 26,000 211,000 (March 1986) 170,146 (March 1989) Amersham International February 1982 63,760 8,601 (January 1982) 5,584 (January 1989) Britoil 5November 1982 37,257 241,000 —
thousands Capital gains tax Inheritance tax 1989–90 180 26 1990–91 150 22 The figures for capital gains tax exclude capital gains realised by companies and taxed within corporation tax. For each tax, the 1989–90 and 1990–91 tax bases are taken as given. It is not possible to determine to what extent changes to the taxes between 1978–79 or 1979–80 and the present may have affected the levels of transfers arid disposals. The above comparisons can therefore be regarded as no more than indicative of the orders of magnitude involved.