Income Tax

HC Deb 21 February 1992 vol 204 cc309-10W

Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the loss of revenue from income tax at(a) the standard rate and (b) the higher rate, of allowing husbands and wives to aggregate their incomes for tax purposes and divide by two; and whether he will publish a table showing the loss by range of total incomes and the number of incomes in each case.

Mr. Maude

Approximate figures at 1991–92 levels of income are given in the table:

Total income £ per year	Number of taxpaying in a full year married couples(million)	Revenue loss in a full year £million
0 to 10,000	0.9	400
10,000 to 15,000	2.2	1,700
15,000 to 20,000	2.2	1,800
20,000 to 40,000	2.7	1,900
30,000 to 40,000	1.0	800
40,000 to 50,000	0.4	600
Over 50,000	0.6	1,600

£ billion
	1970–71	1974–75	1978–79	1990–91
(i) NICs 1
employers	1.4	3.1	6.2	20–4
employees	1.3	2.4	4.1	14.9
(ii) Income tax 2
total tax liability	6.2	11.8	20.3	59.4
total liability at higher rate	—	1.5	1.8	12.5
total liability at excess over standard rate	0.3	0.6	0.8	4.7
(iii) VAT3	—	2.8	5.2	32.5
(iv) Other indirect taxes 4	5.2	4.9	9.0	24–0

Total income £ per year	Number of taxpaying in a full year married couples(million)	Revenue loss in a full year £million
Total	10.0	8,800

These estimates do not allow for any behavioural effect that might result from such a change in the tax system.

Mr. Bill Walker

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the value of income tax paid by Scottish-based taxpayers.

Mr. Maude

The amount of income tax liability for residents of Scotland was estimated to be £3.49 billion for 1988–89, the latest available year.

Mr. Bill Walker

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Scottish-based income tax payers' affairs are handled by tax offices in England and Wales.

Mr. Maude

Of 1.9 million single people and married men liable to income tax in 1988–89 and resident in Scotland, about 400,000 had their income tax affairs handled by tax offices in England and Wales. The corresponding information about married women under independent taxation is not yet available.