§ Mr. HammondTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people paid income tax in(a) 1978–79 and (b) 1997–98; and how many people 452W would have been paying income tax in 1997–98 if the tax regime had been indexed and maintained at 1978–79 levels. [10895]
§ Mr. Geoffrey Robinson[holding answer 28 July 1997]: Estimated number of taxpayers are given in the table. This comparison is hypothetical since if an indexed version of the 1978–79 tax regime had prevailed over the last 19 years the income base would not have grown in the way it has.
Number of individuals paying tax (million) 1978–79 25.9 1997–981 24.6 1978–79 indexed regime on 27.4 1997–98 income base1 1 The effect of changes in mortgage interest relief cannot be included in this comparison because most mortgage interest relief is now given at source and therefore is not recorded on individual tax records.