Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Tax Cuts – 19 October 1988

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Tax Cuts on 19th October 1988.

Mr. Simon Hughes To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the effects of the tax cuts announced in the Budget on the levels of consumer expenditure.

Mr. Major The Budget left the overall burden of taxation unchanged, and I therefore do not expect any significant immediate effects on total consumers’ expenditure. In the longer run, by improving incentives and encouraging an enterprise economy, it will have boosted output, employment and exports, and allow a higher level of consumers’ expenditure than would otherwise have been possible.