Finance Bill

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time. I was a few minutes late because I went to check the letter board, hoping that I would have an answer to the question that I first tabled on 16 April and retabled on 30 April. On three occasions on the Floor of the House, I have asked why I had not received a reply. Perhaps, by leave of the House, I may be able to respond at the end of the debate, by which time I may be able to read the parliamentary answer giving us the information that we require. That information is by what amount our constituents will lose out by the abolition of the 10p standard rate of tax, and how many of them and which groups will be affected. Let me declare an interest: I favour the abolition of the 10p rate of tax. I believe that most of our constituents think about a headline rate, and that is the standard rate. Any move that brings the standard rate down is welcome to me. Indeed, long before I came to the House, I was advocating the abolition of tax allowances so that we could get the standard rate down even further than it has fallen today and is proposed in the Budget. It is clear from our postbags around the country that three groups stand to lose from the change, and they may not be covered by the tax credits changes that have already been announced and the child benefit changes that might be announced next year. The first group is lower-income households that will see their tax burden increase as a result of the abolition of the 10p rate, while those on higher incomes see their tax take fall. One person put it in powerful terms in their letter to me by saying that they never thought that they would see a Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer redistributing from poorer to richer households. As to the numbers that are affected, I hope, as I said, to read the parliamentary answer in a moment. Secondly, a number of voters around the country have said that, although their husbands will benefit from cuts in the standard rate, they will lose income through the abolition of the 10p rate because they are viewed in traditional terms as the minor earners in the household, although most such households would not survive without their two earners. My hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton, South-West (Rob Marris) mentioned the third group—this is the first time we have raised the matter in the House—which is people who have retired early, largely because of ill health, and who do not gain the advantages of the additional tax allowances that people gain once they reach the standard retirement age. It could be argued that the change in the tax rates will be offset in that way. The new clause therefore says that, before the House of Commons considers measures that affect our constituents’ living standards, particularly where we are decreasing them, the Government should give us the information as part of the Budget, so that we know the numbers and the extent to which that cut in income is taking place. We know that the measures before us will affect some people who will lose out in relation to the 10p rate. I am not sure how many, but I am hoping that that will be revealed.