§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will change the Inland Revenue regime for life insurance and tax exempt savings plans; and when he will next meet the Association of Friendly Societies.[93974]
§ John HealeyThe Sandler review of the market for medium and long-term retail savings, which was published last July, recommended two changes to the regime for taxing life insurance products. These changes are the abolition of qualifying policies and the replacement of the so-called 5 per cent. tax-deferral rule which applies to withdrawals.
As we announced in the Pre-Budget Report, the Government are considering these proposals as part of the Budget process and is discussing their implications with the insurance industry and friendly society movement. I understand that the Association of
934WInformation on sickness absence covering the Treasury, Customs and Excise, the Valuation Office Agency, Inland Revenue, the Department for National Savings, the Government Actuary Department and the Office for National Statistics is published by the Cabinet Office in their annual reports on "Analysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil Service".
Information since 1994 from those reports is as follows:
Friendly Societies (AFS) has been in frequent contact with Treasury and Inland Revenue officials. I am not aware of any recent request from the AFS for a meeting with Treasury Ministers.