Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to increase or reduce total taxation as a percentage of GDP over the remainder of this Parliament.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast that public sector current receipts (PSCR) will be 36.3% of GDP in 2015-16. As a share of GDP, PSCR is forecast to increase over the remainder of the Parliament. The OBR forecast PSCR to be 36.9% of GDP in 2016-17 and 2017-18, 37% of GDP in 2018-19, and reaching 37.5% of GDP in the final year of this Parliament. However, the Budget represents a net tax cut, worth £3bn over the scorecard period (2016-17 to 2020-21). The Budget backs business with a major overhaul of corporation tax reliefs, a lower corporation tax rate and a big reduction in small business rates.