§ Lord Marlesfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will state the top rate of value added tax in each country of the European Union, indicating in each case the range of goods and services to which it applies. [HL3722]
§ Lord McIntosh of HaringeyThe top rate of VAT in each member state of the European Union is its
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§ Lord McIntosh of HaringeyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.
Letter to Lord McCarthy from the Director of the Office for National Statistics, Mr. T. Holt, dated 10 November 1998.
As the Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question on the average annual rate of real earnings growth. I apologise for the delay in replying to you. This was due to the complex nature of the question.
In the attached table, I have provided information from the New Earnings Survey for each year from 1990 to 1998. The change in occupational coding prior to 1990 prevents the production of consistent analyses for earlier years.
For the growth of earnings in real terms please refer to the RPI index in the ONS Business Monitor MM23, a copy of which is in the House Library.
standard rate. The current standard rates, which apply to most goods and services, are set out in the following table.
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Standard rates of VAT in EU Member States EC Member State Standard rate of VAT (%) Austria 20.0 Belgium 21.0 Denmark 25.0
Standard rates of VAT in EU Member States EC Member State Standard rate of VAT (%) Finland 22.0 France 20.6 Germany 16.0 Greece 18.0 Ireland 21.0 Italy 20.0 Luxembourg 15.0 Netherlands 17.5 Portugal 17.0 Spain 16.0 Sweden 25.0 UK 17.5