§ Ms HarmanTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what rise in the basic rate of income tax a household on average income with an average mortgage would have to pay in 1994–95 and 1995–96 to yield the equivalent of the 701W reduction in their mortgage interest relief resulting from measures announced in the March and November 1993 Budgets.
§ Mr. Dorrell[holding answer 26 January 1994]: The cost of the reduction in mortgage interest relief will be £115.50 a year in 1994–95 and a further £115.50 a year in 1995–96 for individual taxpayers in the category described. A person with an average mortgage is benefiting by £1,920 a year as a result of the reduction in interest rates since 1990. It is not sensible to try to make the comparison with other tax rates that the question invites.