| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Windfall Tax
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his oral answer of 12 June, Official Report, columns 1261-62, if the Treasury will account for revenue accruing from the windfall tax on a deferred income basis spread over the whole Parliament. [4073]
Mr. Geoffrey Robinson: The Chancellor of the Exchequer will announce details of the windfall tax in his Budget Statement.
Travel Insurance
Mr. Fearn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the current rate of tax levied on travel insurance sold by (a) a bank, (b) a newsagent and (c) a travel agent. [4594]
Dawn Primarolo: Under provisions introduced in the last Budget, with effect from 1 April 1997 travel insurance sold by a travel agent is subject to insurance premium tax (IPT) at a rate of 17.5 per cent. Travel insurance sold by a bank or newsagent is normally liable to IPT at a rate of 4 per cent.
Duty Free Shopping
Mr. Jack: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his policy towards the European Commission's proposal to end duty free shopping and if he will make a statement. [4061]
Dawn Primarolo
[holding answer 19 June 1997]: The Government have no objection to looking at the impact of the end of the regime. But the legal commitment is to abolish duty free shopping for intra EU travel by 30 June 1999.
1 Jul 1997 : Column: 116
Mr. Fearn:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the rate of cot deaths in England and Wales in (i) 1994, (i) 1995 and (iii) 1996. [5959]
Mrs Liddell:
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Chief Executive of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Ronnie Fearn, dated 1 July 1997:
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply, as Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), to your recent parliamentary question on the rate of cot deaths in England and Wales.
The information for 1994 and 1995 is available in ONS Monitor Series DH3 96/2 Sudden infant deaths, 1991-1995. This publication is available in the House of Commons Library. Information for 1996 will be published in August 1997.
Departmental Advisers
Mr. Alan Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list each person advising or assisting his Department who has (a) membership of and (b) involvement in (i) the European Round Table of industrialists, (ii) the European Centre for Infrastructure Studies, (iii) the Competitiveness Advisory Group, (iv) Transatlantic Business Dialogue, (v) the Association for the Monetary Union of Europe, (vi) Union of Industrial and Employers Confederations of Europe, (vii) Europa Bio and (viii) the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. [5308]
Mrs. Liddell: I am advised that no civil servant or special adviser in the Chancellor's Departments is either a member of, or directly involved in, any of these bodies. Treasury Ministers and officials do, however, have contacts with many different organisations, including some of those listed, in the course of their work. It would be impracticable to maintain a database of all the organisations and individuals with whom contact is maintained.
Green Taxes
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the Tax-benefit Working Group's remit covers the job-creating potential of green tax reform; and if he will make a statement. [5160]
Dawn Primarolo: The role of green taxes is not within the remit of the task force on tax and benefits. The task force will concentrate on streamlining and modernising the tax and benefits systems so as to promote work incentives, reduce poverty and welfare dependency, and strengthen community and family life.
Disabled People (Computer Equipment)
Mr. David Atkinson:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on current relief from VAT on computer equipment supplied to disabled people. [4377]
1 Jul 1997 : Column: 117
Dawn Primarolo:
VAT is not chargeable on the cost of adapting computer equipment so that it is easier for a disabled person to use, nor on items of equipment and software specifically designed for the disabled--for example, Braille embossers.
Mr. Leigh:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Rotherham (Mr. MacShane) of 2 June, Official Report, column 89, if the report to be prepared by the Inland Revenue into the tax and benefits system will consider alternative means for the taxation of married couples; [4813]
Dawn Primarolo:
Martin Taylor is leading the task force on tax and benefits. He will no doubt consider whatever options can streamline and modernise the systems and so promote work incentives, reduce poverty and welfare dependency, and strengthen community and family life. The Government's policy is to take decisions which will achieve those objectives.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the effect on the United Kingdom economy of holidaymakers purchasing goods duty paid abroad. [4452]
Dawn Primarolo:
Customs' latest estimate of the retail value of alcohol and tobacco products purchased duty paid in other EU member states for personal importation into the United Kingdom is given in the table. The figures shown are for the year ending 30 June 1996.
(2) pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Rotherham of 2 June, Official Report, column 89, if he will make it his policy not to take decisions on the future of the married couple's allowance until the review has been completed. [4801]
| Product type | Retail value |
|---|---|
| Beer | 175 |
| Wine | 450 |
| Spirits | 185 |
| Tobacco products | 95 |
| Total | 905 |
Figures have been independently rounded to £5 million. Components may not therefore sum to the totals given.
Customs have no estimate of the value of other goods purchased duty-paid by UK residents abroad.
Tobacco Taxes
Mr. Barron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue was raised from each of the taxes payable on each category of tobacco product in the last year for which figures are available. [4506]
Dawn Primarolo:
The amounts raised from excise duty and VAT are as shown for the financial year 1995-96.
1 Jul 1997 : Column: 118
| Duty | VAT | |
|---|---|---|
| Cigarettes | 6,883 | 1,570 |
| Cigars | 131 | |
| Hand-rolling tobacco | 225 | 140 |
| Other smoking and chewing tobacco | 52 |
Value added tax has been estimated from Office for National Statistics figures for consumers' expenditure on tobacco.
VAT (Plants)
Mr. Fearn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to bring the VAT charged on flowering and pot plants into line with European Union norms. [5596]
Dawn Primarolo: I have no plans to change the rate of VAT charged on flowering and pot plants. The rate of VAT charged on these goods varies significantly across the European Community.
Firearms
Mr. Colvin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if payments made by the Government to firearms dealers under (a) the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 Compensation Scheme and (b) the ex gratia compensation scheme for small calibre pistols are subject to VAT. [5829]
Dawn Primarolo: Yes. If the dealer is registered for VAT the surrender of pistols against a payment of compensation is a taxable supply for VAT purposes.
Fuel Duty (Rural Areas)
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will have particular regard in considering any increase in duty on petrol and diesel to the impact of such measures on rural areas with low income levels and lacking public rail and road transport; and if he will make a statement. [5837]
Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 27 June 1997]: Matters such as these will be taken into account in reaching Budget decisions.
Interest Rates
Mr. Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 24 June, Official Report, columns 455-56 on interest rates, if he will set out the basis of his calculations and the assumptions on which his measures of real rates were based. [6063]
Mrs. Liddell: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Chief Executive of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given. Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Austin Mitchell, dated 1 July 1997:
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply as the Director of the Office for National Statistics to your further question (6063) on interest rates following the answer which I gave on 24 June (at columns 455-6).
1 Jul 1997 : Column: 119
The original table provided was regretfully incorrect due to miscalculation. I now attach a table providing the corrected nominal and real interest rates which I hope rectifies any confusion ONS caused.
As stated in my original letter, the real rate of interest is calculated as the nominal rate of interest adjusted by removing the growth in inflation over the 12 month period. The basis of the calculation is the base interest rate of retail banks adjusted for the change in the retail price index excluding mortgage interest payments.
The annual rate of interest is a weighted average of the retail banks' base rate over the year. The weights are the number of days a particular interest rate is in operation.
Real interest rates are calculated by adjusting the annual nominal rates by the change in the rate of inflation over the previous year (refer to footnote). The Bank of England also calculate real interest rates, but use indicators of future inflation rather than recorded price changes in the previous year. Latest movements are detailed in their Inflation Report.
Once again I apologise for the inconvenience this error has caused you.
| RPI: Percentage change over 12 months | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominal interest rate | All items excluding mortgage interest payments | (10)Real interest rate | |
| 1970 | 7.2 | 6.4 | 0.8 |
| 1971 | 5.9 | 9.4 | -3.2 |
| 1972 | 6.0 | 7.1 | -1.1 |
| 1973 | 9.9 | 9.2 | 0.6 |
| 1974 | 12.3 | 16.0 | -3.2 |
| 1975 | 10.4 | 24.2 | -11.1 |
| 1976 | 11.1 | 16.7 | -4.8 |
| 1977 | 8.9 | 15.9 | -6.0 |
| 1978 | 9.1 | 8.6 | 0.5 |
| 1979 | 13.7 | 12.6 | 1.0 |
| 1980 | 16.3 | 16.9 | -0.5 |
| 1981 | 13.3 | 12.2 | 0.9 |
| 1982 | 11.9 | 8.5 | 3.2 |
| 1983 | 9.8 | 5.2 | 4.4 |
| 1984 | 9.7 | 4.5 | 5.0 |
| 1985 | 12.2 | 5.2 | 6.7 |
| 1986 | 10.9 | 3.6 | 7.0 |
| 1987 | 9.7 | 3.7 | 5.8 |
| 1988 | 10.1 | 4.6 | 5.3 |
| 1989 | 13.8 | 5.9 | 7.5 |
| 1990 | 14.8 | 8.1 | 6.2 |
| 1991 | 11.7 | 6.7 | 4.7 |
| 1992 | 9.6 | 4.7 | 4.6 |
| 1993 | 6.0 | 3.0 | 2.9 |
| 1994 | 5.5 | 2.3 | 3.1 |
| 1995 | 6.7 | 2.9 | 3.7 |
| 1996 | 6.0 | 3.0 | 2.9 |
(10) The real interest rate = ( ( (1+it) / (1+rt) ) -1) * 100
where
9t = the nominal rate of interest in year t (Column 1/100)
rt = the annual percentage change in retail prices excluding mortgage interest payments (RPIX) between year t-1 and year t (Column 2/100).
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |