§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the latest estimated level of uncollected(a) corporation tax, (b) schedule D tax and (c) capital gains tax for each year since 1979 in 1994 prices; and what these amounts represent as a percentage of total tax payable in each category.
§ Sir George YoungThe board of the Inland Revenue allows individual remissions of tax as an aspect of their responsibilities for the "care and management" of the direct taxes under section 1(1) of the Taxes Management Act 1970.
Sound management requires that tax which is not collected and which cannot practicably be collected—for example, because the taxpayer is insolvent or his whereabouts are unknown—should be written off. 342W Similarly, it is on occasions necessary to remit tax which it would be unconscionable to collect—for example, because the payment would cause gross hardship to the taxpayer.
The level of remissions fell for account 93 and is expected to fall again in 1994.
(a) The amounts of corporation tax uncollected and consequently remitted or written off as irrecoverable since 1979 are as follows:
Year Amount in thousands As a percentage of total corporation tax collected Amount expressed in 1993 prices 1979 15,182 0.50 47,079 1980 16,214 0.49 44,116 1981 20,688 0.70 51,295 1982 34,396 0.89 77,888 1983 40,912 0.11 85,409 1984 58,051 1.23 113,034 1985 75,342 1.27 133,725 1986 91,365 1.11 150,489 1987 92,830 0.93 137,960 1988 225,597 1.92 301,357 1989 151,368 1.05 186,209 1990 184,725 1.17 210,984 1991 320,929 2.09 351,891 1992 542,233 4.64 571,717 1993 417,814 4.21 417,814 1994 n/a n/a n/a Note:
The figures for 1994 are not sufficiently complete to allow the necessary comparison to be made and, consequently, the information is not available in the form requested. Therefore, the figures are expressed in accordance with 1994 prices.
(b) The amounts of schedule D tax uncollected and consequently remitted or written off as irrecoverable since 1979 are as follows:
Year Amount in thousands As a percentage of total Schedule D collected Amount expressed in1993 prices 1979 n/a n/a n/a 1980 33,081 0.79 90,010 1981 41,552 0.75 103,028 1982 52,763 0.84 119,479 1983 68,536 1.04 143,078 1984 91,229 1.32 177,636 1985 90,196 1.18 160,090 1986 124,297 1.29 204,732 1987 133,878 1.88 198,964 1988 252,424 3.06 337,193 1989 242,024 2.53 297,731 1990 254,989 2.35 291,237 1991 383,566 3.17 420,571 1992 703,422 5.16 741,670 1993 701,787 5.58 701,787 1994 n/a n/a n/a Notes:
1 The figures for 1994 are not sufficiently complete to allow the necessary comparison to be made and consequently the information is not available in the form requested. Therefore, the figures are expressed in accordance with 1993 prices.
2 Separate figures for schedule D are not available for 1979.
343W(c) The amounts of capital gains tax uncollected and consequently remitted or written off as irrecoverable since 1979 are as follows:
Year Amount in thousands As a percentage of total CGT collected Amount expressed in 1993 prices 1979 3,048 0.73 9,452 1980 3,591 0.71 9,771 1981 2,734 9.61 6,779 1982 4,868 0.78 11,023 1983 6,496 1.01 13,561 1984 5,998 0.84 11,679 1985 7,562 0.93 13,422 1986 10,064 0.99 16,576 1987 8,822 0.79 13,111 1988 12,680 0.80 16,938 1989 10,864 0.47 13,365 1990 12,002 0.64 13,708 1991 29,721 1.58 32,588 1992 57,836 4.69 60,981 1993 50,397 4.56 50,397 1994 n/a n/a n/a Note:
The figures for 1994 are not sufficiently complete to allow the necessary comparison to be made and, consequently, the information is not available in the form requested. Therefore, the figures are expressed in accordance with 1993 prices.
Insolvencies, where the Inland Revenue has very little control over the amount recoverable, account for the vast majority of remissions of tax.