Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Benefit in Kind – 29 October 1990

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Benefit in Kind on 29th October 1990.

Mr. Alfred Morris To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has any plans to increase the threshold for benefit in kind above the current limit of £8,500 a year; how this limit has changed in real value over the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Major [holding answer 25 October 1990]: There are no plans to increase the threshold at which special rules apply to the taxation of benefits in kind. In principle all employees should pay income tax on the whole of their earnings whether received in cash or in kind. If this threshold had been indexed over the last 10 years in line with inflation according to the statutory formula for increasing personal allowances and thresholds, the threshold in 1990–91 would be £16,636.