§ Mr. PawseyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact of a windfall tax on United Kingdom companies on employment and on prices.
§ Mr. DorrellThe precise impact of such a tax would depend on what form it took, but any increase in business taxation would be likely to impede job creation. Furthermore, the Government believe that excess profits should be avoided by encouraging competition and providing effective regulation of monopolies. We do not believe that excess profits should be tolerated in order to provide extra taxable capacity.