§ Lord Vinsonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Inland Revenue's computer technology is now sufficiently advanced to allow the integration of income tax with national insurance.
§ The Minister of State, Department of Social Security (Lord Mackay of Ardbrecknish)The Joint Working Programme between the Inland Revenue and the Contributions Agency of the DSS, which has responsibility for National Insurance, was introduced in September 1995 and now has more than 30 projects in hand. As part of the programme, opportunities are taken where possible to maximise the compatibility of Information Technology strategies. The integration of income tax with National Insurance is a matter that has been considered in some detail but the issues that arise are not issues about the computer technology but concern the structure of tax and NICs. In particular, the contributory principle that underpins National Insurance would need to be addressed before any integration with the tax system would be possible. Any change would have far-reaching consequences for large numbers of taxpayers. This area is kept under regular review.