HL Deb 03 November 1993 vol 549 c124WA
Lord Barnett

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What would be the proceeds in 1994–95 of imposing a five per cent. rate of VAT on all goods and services at present zero-rated, including fuel and power.

The Earl of Caithness

The publicationTax Ready Reckoner and Tax Reliefs shows estimates for the cost of not standard rating all items currently zero-rated. For 1993–94 the total estimated cost was £17.6 billion, which suggests that a 5 per cent. rate would raise around £5.0 billion. These figures make no allowance for changes in consumer behaviour.