With the passing of the Finance Act of 1979 the new system of Petroleum Revenue Tax (PRT) became law.

Since coming to office the present government has been involved in implementing its economic philosophy, which sees the future growth and development of the UK economy dependent upon the elimination of inflation, the re-establishment of economic incentives, the return of many activities to the market place and a reduction in the public sector's involvement in economic and social affairs.

Some recent attention has been given to the so called 'Laffer Curve'.

Nearly all food prices in Europe are now determined, not by market forces, but by the operation of the Common Agricultural Policy.

The title I have chosen for tonight covers an important group of questions, which have been much in the forefront of discussion in recent years.

The main purpose of CTT is the equitable one of continuing the slow process of reducing the inequality of wealth.

Professor Townsend's monumental study of poverty in the United Kingdom has been long awaited. It is based on a specially commissioned household survey and the results are meticulously documented.

There is now a compelling case for reforming British budgetary practice.

One of the original, if unstated, objectives of the Housing Finance Review initiated in 1975 was to provide a systematic comparison of the distribution of housing subsidies across categories of households differentiated by tenure and other characteristics.

This is that, when inflation reaches anything like 10 percent p.a., it becomes essential to find ways of measuring companies' real profits and that it is these 'real' profits (however defined) which should form the basis of such matters as pricing policy, dividend distributions, and taxation.