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Personal Equity Plans
Mr. Swayne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will change the rules governing PEPs to allow PEP holders who have investments in unlisted securities market companies which migrated to the alternative investment market--AIM--following the closure of the unlisted securities market to continue to hold these investments in their PEP. [10367]
Dawn Primarolo: No. AIM shares may qualify for the tax reliefs available for investment in unlisted companies.
Income Tax
Mr. Davidson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many registered voters in Scotland presently pay income tax at the standard rate or above; [10127]
- (2) how many registered voters in Scotland do not pay income tax at the standard rate or above. [10126]
Dawn Primarolo: It is not possible to identify which taxpayers are registered to vote.
General Government Expenditure
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the reduction in real general Government expenditure in 1997-98 and 1998-99 consequential on the "Financial Statement and Budget Report" projected increase in the gross domestic product deflator. [8140]
Mr. Darling
[holding answer 11 July 1997]: In the last Budget, general Government expenditure increased in
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cash terms by £0.4 billion in 1997-98 and by £4.1 billion in 1998-99 compared with the projections in the 1996 Budget. In 1995-96 prices, using the latest GDP deflator forecasts, there was a real reduction of £2.6 billion in 1997-98 and £1.5 billion in 1998-99.
Sir Richard Body:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the legal base for use of qualified majority voting in the creation of an action programme for the enhancement of administrative co-operation between the indirect tax authorities in the European Community, as detailed in COM (97) 175; and what representation he has made in respect of its use in this respect. [10200]
Dawn Primarolo
[holding answer 22 July 1997]: The European Commission has proposed that the legal base for this action programme--the FISCALIS programme--should be article 100a of the treaty establishing the European Community, so making it a matter for co-decision with the European Parliament and qualified majority voting in the Council.
The UK remains firmly committed to unanimity as the basis for Community-level decision making on all substantive tax matters.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the Government would be prepared to join the economic and monetary union at the presently prevailing value of the pound; and if he will make a statement. [11336]
Mrs. Liddell
[holding answer 29 July 1997]: It would be premature to speculate on an appropriate rate for joining EMU. The Chancellor does not propose to make a statement.
Mr. Redwood:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in what circumstances the Minister for Trade and Competitiveness in Europe is able to handle matters relating to tax. [10426]
Mr. Gordon Brown
[holding answer 24 July 1997]: The Minister for Trade and Competitiveness in Europe has a project-based portfolio in the Treasury which may include some tax issues. However, arrangements are in place to ensure that the Minister is not involved in issues that could give rise to conflicts of interest.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people receiving tax relief for private medical insurance who will not renew their current policies as a result of the Budget measure to terminate such tax relief. [10305]
Dawn Primarolo
[holding answer 24 July 1997]: No firm estimates are available of the number of people receiving tax relief who will not renew their current policies as a result of the Budget measure.
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Mr. Grieve:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many VAT-registrable businesses there were in the United Kingdom in each year since 1979. [10838]
Dawn Primarolo
[holding answer 28 July 1997]: Customs does not hold information on the number of VAT-registrable businesses in the United Kingdom in each year since 1979. However, the number of businesses actually registered for VAT in the UK in each financial year since 1983 was as follows:
| Financial year | Registered businesses |
|---|---|
| 1983-84 | 1,433,100 |
| 1984-85 | 1,458,900 |
| 1985-86 | 1,477,400 |
| 1986-87 | 1,505,500 |
| 1987-88 | 1,554,000 |
| 1988-89 | 1,623,866 |
| 1989-90 | 1,710,106 |
| 1990-91 | 1,745,097 |
| 1991-92 | 1,677,829 |
| 1992-93 | 1,632,013 |
| 1993-94 | 1,593,770 |
| 1994-95 | 1,579,869 |
| 1995-96 | 1,573,620 |
| 1996-97 | 1,595,271 |
Nationalised Industries
Mr. Fraser: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total net external financing limit at current prices of Britain's nationalised industries in each year since 1974. [10919]
Mr. Geoffrey Robinson [holding answer 28 July 1997]: External financing limits were introduced in 1976. Outturn performance against an EFL is recorded as the external financing requirement. The total EFR for the nationalised industries in each year since 1976-77 in current prices is provided in the table.
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Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what subsidy was paid to each of the nationalised industries between 1974 and their year of privatisation. [11344]
Mr. Robinson [holding answer 29 July 1997]: The external financing requirement of a nationalised industry has been used since its introduction in 1976 as the consistent measure of financial support an industry requires to supplement income from its trading activities. The EFR is a measure of the cash needed by the industry to fund investment and meet costs not covered by revenue. As such, it is only an indirect measure of subsidy. Information presented on this basis has been available since 1976-77. Table 3.11 of the "Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 1997-98", Cm 3601, lists EFRs from 1978-79 and 1982-83 onwards. The EFRs for key nationalised industries from 1976-77, unless otherwise indicated, to privatisation are as follows:
| £ billion | |
|---|---|
| British Coal | 16.2 |
| British Gas | (14)-3.6 |
| BNOC | 0 |
| British Steel | 6.0 |
| British Airways | 0 |
| British Rail | 11.1 |
| British Shipbuilders | 1.3 |
| British Telecommunications from 1981-82 | (14)-1.0 |
| Electricity, England, Wales and Scotland | (14)-3.8 |
| Water, from 1978-79 | 2.2 |
(14) A negative EFR represents a net benefit to the public finances.
Public Sector Debt
Mr. Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the average level of public sector debt as a percentage of gross domestic product in (a) 1974-75 to 1978-79 and (b) 1979-80 to 1996-97.[10883]
Mr. Darling [holding answer 28 July 1997]: The average level of net public sector debt from 1974-75 to 1978-79 was 55 per cent. of gross domestic product. The average from 1979-80 to 1996-97 was 40 per cent. of GDP.
Business Taxes
Mr. Fraser: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the percentage of gross domestic product constituted by business taxes for (a) the United Kingdom, (b) Germany, (c) France and (d) Italy in each year since 1974-75. [10894]
Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 28 July 1997]: The information requested is shown in the table.
Notes:
(1) Taxes on business include corporate taxes, employers social security contributions, taxes on payroll, taxes on property and other taxes.
(2) Prior to 1990 data available on a five-year basis.
Source:
Revenue Statistics, 1965-1995, OECD (1996 Edition).
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