§ Mr. ChisholmTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much uncollected tax was owed to the Inland Revenue at the end of the last financial year; and how much has been written off in each of the last five years. [13038]
§ Mr. Michael Jack[holding answer 29 January 1997]: The amount of uncollected assessed tax owed to the Inland Revenue as at the end of October 1995, the latest date for which figures are available, is £2,908.6 million or 3.3 per cent. of the net tax charged. This amount represents tax assessed and collectible but not paid as at the date.
337WThe amounts of tax remitted or written off for each of the last five years are shown in the following table.
Year to end October Amount remitted/written off £ thousands 1995 755,995 1994 1,159,694 1993 1,580,200 1992 1,694,246 1991 883,923 This information is available in the Inland Revenue Board's report.
The Board of Inland Revenue allows remissions of tax on a case-by-case basis as an aspect of responsibilities for the care and management of the various taxes.
Insolvencies, where the Inland Revenue has very little control over the amount recoverable, account for the vast majority of tax written off.