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Finance Bill

I acknowledge the hon. Gentleman's consistency, because that theme runs through his period as a Treasury Committee member and his questions on the Floor of the House. However, his argument is accepted neither by the Government nor, I suspect, by most independent economists, and I return to my earlier point that the Budget is honest in its presentation of our public expenditure problems. I must move on, because I want to comment briefly on several specifics of the Budget. I cannot understand why people find the 50p tax rate so difficult to accept. It seems entirely reasonable and fair that those who have benefited most from the good times make some contribution during the difficulties that we now experience. As I understand it, that view is shared by the public, and the 50p tax rate reflects it. However, I, like others, have some concerns about the proposal in the Budget and, most of all, about the uncertainty surrounding the yield from the tax. We were told on the Treasury Committee that only 31 to 32 per cent. of the potential yield will probably be realised. The Government have taken some steps, as was mentioned earlier, to do something about income being moved into pension schemes, and I recognise that that will increase the likely yield of the 50p rate. However, as the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) has said extensively, there are still major opportunities for people to shift income into capital to reduce their tax burden, so one suspects and hopes that the Government will return to those measures to ensure that the people who can afford it, and who have done so well in the past, make a sensible contribution.