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Special Advisers

Mr. Maples: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in what capacity his special advisers are employed in his private office. [3243]

Mrs. Liddell: Four paid Special Advisers have been appointed in the following capacities:

Ed Balls: Economic Adviser to the Chancellor
Charlie Whelan: Press Adviser to the Chancellor
Edward Miliband: Special Adviser to the Chief Secretary
Andrew Maugham: Special Adviser to the Chief Secretary

Corporation Tax

Mr. Jack: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his assessment of the effects on business investment decisions of (a) a classical system and (b) an imputations system of corporation tax. [3368]

Dawn Primarolo: Any assessment of the effects on business investment decisions of a classical or an imputation system of corporation tax is dependent on the specific features of that system and the tax rates adopted.

Departmental Appointment

Mr. Jack: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the nature of the appointment of Ms Sue Nye to the Treasury. [3360]

Mrs. Liddell: Ms Sue Nye has been appointed personally by the Chancellor as his Political Secretary. She is not an employee of the Treasury and receives no remuneration or reimbursement of expenses from public funds.

VAT

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of VAT was paid by businesses and is recoverable as a business cost in each of the last three years. [3446]

Dawn Primarolo: The approximate proportion of total VAT paid which was paid by businesses and recoverable as a business cost in each of the last three years was as follows:

1994-95: 78 per cent.
1995-96: 79 per cent.
1996-97: 78 per cent.

VAT is paid and recovered at each stage in the process of production and distribution of goods and services by taxable persons.

20 Jun 1997 : Column: 337

Oil Tax

Mr. Jack: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was in each of the last five financial years the amount of tax revenue received per barrel of oil produced.[3378]

Dawn Primarolo: North Sea oil tax revenues received per barrel of oil produced in the same financial year, including revenues from gas production converted into equivalent amounts of oil, are in the table below.

	Tax(8) revenue per barrel £
1992-93	1.20
1993-94	1.00
1994-95	1.20
1995-96	1.70
1996-97(9)	2.30

(8) Petroleum revenue tax, corporation tax, and royalty.

(9) Provisional.

Taxpayers

Mr. Quentin Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his current estimate of the outstanding amount of money owed by the Inland Revenue to taxpayers which has not been claimed by them. [3533]

Dawn Primarolo: No estimate has been made. There are many circumstances in which taxpayers and others may be able to claim money from the Inland Revenue, and tax offices will often be aware of a particular case only when a claim is received.

Internet

Mr. Green: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he has for taxing usage of the Internet.[3325]

Dawn Primarolo: Access to the Internet has always been subject to value added tax. Following a derogation from the Sixth VAT Directive to all member states agreed by the Council of Ministers on 17 March, legislation will be introduced in the UK with effect from 1 July 1997. The legislation, which covers a range of telecommunication services including Internet access, changes the rules governing where, for VAT purposes, the supply takes place. This will ensure fairer taxation where these services are supplied from one country to another. Further information on these changes is available in an Information Sheet issued by Customs and Excise titled VAT Information Sheet 2/97.

Income Tax

Mr. Prior: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the top rate of income tax on earned income in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) Germany, (c) France, (d) the USA and (e) Japan; and at which income level it applies.[3527]

Dawn Primarolo: The information for tax regimes in force at the beginning of 1997 is given in the table. The income figures relate to earned income of single taxpayers and have been converted to pounds sterling using 1996 OECD purchasing power parities.

20 Jun 1997 : Column: 338

	Top rate of central government income tax Per cent	Taxable income level above which top rate applies £
United Kingdom	40	29,265
Germany(10)	53	39,350
France(11)	54	29,330
USA(12)	39.6	182,150
Japan(13)	50	117,200

(10) Excluding solidarity surcharge (7.5 per cent. of tax) and church tax (9 per cent. tax). At incomes below the level shown rates rise gradually according to a complex formula.

(11) There are also 48 per cent. and 43 per cent. tax bands which start at £23,790 and £14,620 respectively.

(12) States and local governments also impose income tax. OECD use a typical level of 7.25 per cent. Federal income tax at 36 per cent. starts at £83,760 and 31 per cent. tax at £40,150.

(13) Local inhabitant taxes are also charged, at 15 per cent. on incomes over £26,650. Central government tax at 40 per cent. starts at £70,330 and 30 per cent. rates begins at £35,160.

Mr. Luff: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how he intends to monitor the implementation of self-assessment of individuals' liability for income tax; and if he will make a statement. [3547]

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue has in place a number of management information systems to monitor the implementation of self assessment. As the Minister responsible for Self Assessment I also receive a monthly progress report.

Tax System

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans the Treasury has to reform the schedular arrangements of the United Kingdom tax system. [3521]

Dawn Primarolo: The way in which different types of income are classified for tax purposes will be considered as part of the Inland Revenue project to rewrite direct tax law so that it is clearer and easier to use.

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the first draft of re-written and simplified tax legislation will be published. [3619]

Dawn Primarolo: On present plans, we hope to publish the first draft re-written legislation for consultation next month.

Pensions (Tax Relief)

Mr. Green: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to reduce tax relief on pension contributions; and if he will make a statement. [3331]

Dawn Primarolo: It would not be appropriate to comment on any possible tax changes during the run-up to the Budget.

Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee

Ms Kelly: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if non-voting members of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee are entitled to take part in the deliberations of the committee; and if their comments will be minuted; [4576]

20 Jun 1997 : Column: 339

(2) how many non-voting members are permitted to attend the Bank of England's monetary policy committee; and what criteria are used in selecting those non-voting members. [4580]

Mrs. Liddell: The Treasury representative is the only non-voting member of the monetary policy committee. The Treasury representative can take part in the discussion, but not in the decision, on interest rates. As is the case with other members, comments made by the Treasury representative will be reflected but not attributed in the minutes.

Ms Kelly: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what priority the Bank of England's monetary policy committee is expected to give to imbalances between the demand and output of (a) different industries, (b) different sectors and (c) different regions of the economy in making its decisions on interest rates. [4637]

Mrs. Liddell: The Chancellor has made it clear that the monetary policy committee will be responsible for taking full account of regional and sectoral information in its monetary policy decisions. The Bank's Court will have particular regard to whether the Bank is collecting such information, and the Court will itself be reformed so that it is representative of the whole of the United Kingdom.

Mortgage Interest Tax Relief

Mr. Norman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are his Department's estimates of the income distribution of taxpayers benefiting from mortgage interest relief. [3708]

Dawn Primarolo: Information for 1997-98 is given in the table. The estimates are based on information projected from the 1994-95 Family Expenditure Survey and are therefore provisional.

Number of beneficiaries of mortgage interest relief by range of total income

Range of total income (lower limit)(14) £	Number of single people or married couples benefiting from mortgage interest relief thousands
0	960
5,000	1,070
10,000	1,930
15,000	2,240
20,000	1,680
25,000	1,090
30,000	970
40,000	760
Total	10,700

(14) Total income of husband for married couples.

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