§ Mr. DevaTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the proportional cost to the Exchequer of collecting that proportion of the tax take which is then given towards local authorities.
§ Mr. PortilloExchequer grants to local authorities are derived from general Government funds. They are not hypothecated from particular taxes. It is therefore not possible to hypothecate to them the costs of tax collection.
Non-domestic rates are collected by local authorities and redistributed to them through a central Exchequer pool. Authorities can offset amounts for the cost of collection against their contribution to the pool. For 1994–95, the allowance is £69.5 million—less than 0.7 per cent. of the expected rates yield for the year.