§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of the number of(a) adults, (b) income taxpayers and (c) income taxpayers at the basic and higher rates in Scotland; and if he will make a statement. [69185]
§ Dawn Primarolo[holding answer 4 February 1999]: Latest mid-year population estimates are that there were some 3,970,000 people aged 18 and over in Scotland in 1997. The latest Survey of Personal Incomes indicates that there were about 2,330,000 income taxpayers in Scotland in 1996–97. Of these, 1,540,000 people were liable to pay income tax at basic rate while 152,000 were liable to pay at higher rate.