HC Deb 15 January 2002 vol 378 cc256-7W
Mr. Edward Davey

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many PAYE coding notices changes were made by the Inland Revenue in(a) 1970–71, (b) 1980–81, (c) 1990–91 and (d) 2000–01. [26949]

Dawn Primarolo

The total number of PAYE coding notices issued during the year 2000–01 was 31,056,370.

Statistics for 1970–71, 1980–81 and 1990–91 are no longer available.

Mr. Edward Davey

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what studies the Inland Revenue has commissioned into reform of the administration of income tax since 1997; and if he will list their(a) names, (b) authors and (c) publication dates or expected publication dates; [26862]

(2) what studies the Inland Revenue has commissioned into replacing the PAYE coding system with a non-cumulative, end-of-year reconciliation system (a) before 1997 and (b) since 1997; and if he will place copies in the Library; [26864]

Dawn Primarolo

The Inland Revenue keeps all aspects of the administration of income tax including PAYE under continuous review. Internal reviews of the tax system or possible changes to it are published where it is appropriate to do so.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the proportion of income to be paid in tax by the top(a) 1 per cent., (b) 5 per cent. and (c) 10 per cent. and the bottom 50 per cent. of tax payers in 2001–02. [26212]

Dawn Primarolo

Estimates for income tax as a percentage of total income for the quantile groups specified are in the table.

Quantile group Tax liability as a percentage of total income 2001–02
Top 1 per cent. 34
Top 5 per cent. 30
Top 10 per cent. 27
Bottom 50 per cent. 8

The estimates are based on the Survey of Personal Incomes and are consistent with the November 2001 pre-Budget report.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the number of people who would cease to pay income tax if the personal income tax allowance were raised to(a) £5,000, (b) £7,500 and (c) £10,000; and what his estimate is of the cost of raising the personal income tax allowance to (i) £5,000, (ii) £7,500 and (iii) £10,000. [26335]

Dawn Primarolo

The number of people who would cease to pay income tax in 2001–02 if the personal allowance were raised and the cost of raising the allowance are shown in the table.

Personal allowance Number of people taken out of income tax (thousand) Cost of increasing the personal allowance (£ billion)
£5,000 600 2.6
£7,500 3,700 15.1
£10,000 6,800 25.9

The estimates are based on the Survey of Personal Incomes and are consistent with the pre-Budget report 2001.

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