asked the Minister for Finance the amount that benefit-in-kind taxation on loans from employers to employees, introduced in the 1982 budget has yielded to the Exchequer.

To determine accurately the current yield of income tax to the Exchequer arising out of the provision of section 8 of the Finance Act, 1982, (restriction of relief in respect of interest paid on certain loans at a reduced rate) would require identification of the cases involved and an individual examination of all the income tax returns of such cases. Such an examination could only be carried out at a disproportionate cost. However, it is tentatively estimated that the net yield to the Exchequer for the current income tax year in respect of preferential loans is of the order of £1 million.