§ 25. Lieut.-Commander AGNEW (for Mr. DENMAN)asked the Minister of Agriculture what is the estimated amount of the relief to landowners, capitalised on a 3 per cent. basis, to be granted by the proposed legislation for dealing with tithe; and what is the estimated loss to the Church of England similarly calculated?
§ Mr. ELLIOTAs the answer is necessarily long and contains a number of figures, I propose to circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Following is the answer:
§ Subject to the reservations set out below, the estimated amount of relief to tithe-payers, capitalised on a 3 per cent. basis, is approximately £24,904,000, of which £17,823,000 is in respect of tithe rentcharge owned by the Church of England Authorities, that is to say, Queen Anne's Bounty in trust for benefices and ecclesiastical corporations, and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. As regards the second part of the question, the present net income of the Church of England Authorities from tithe rentcharge is estimated at £2,126,468, while the future net income under the proposed legislation is estimated at £1,733,217, involving a loss of £393,251 in perpetuity, 888 which capitalised on a 3 per cent. basis would amount to £13,108,000. It will be noted that the loss to the Church, capitalised on a 3 per cent. basis, is less than the amount of the relief to the tithepayers, similarly capitalised, by £4,715,000. This difference is the net result of a number of factors, principally the reduction in the income received by rating authorities from rates on tithe rentcharge. Some of this reduction, however, would presumably have occurred in any case, assuming the assessable value of tithe rentcharge to be reduced, and more, eventually, as and when redemptions took place. If from the sum of £12,108,000 is deducted the £2 million capital grant which it is proposed to make to the Church Authorities in accordance with the Government's Statement of Policy, the net capital loss to the Church may be estimated at £11,108,000. It should be added that these figures are necessarily approximations, and are based on estimates adopted by the Royal Commission on Tithe Rentcharge for the purpose of their report. The figures do not take into account the effect of remissions of tithe rentcharge, present or proposed, or any variations in the amounts payable in regard to Income Tax as a result of the change of system. Moreover, no regard has been had to the fact that the accumulation by Queen Anne's Bounty at 3 per cent.—the rate of interest assumed in the question—of the present annual sinking fund payment of £4 10s. per £100 tithe rentcharge (par value) under the Tithe Act, 1925, would prove insufficient to produce at the end of the redemption period under that Act an income equivalent to the present net income derived from ecclesiastical tithe rentcharge.