§ SIR GEORGE JENKINSONsaid, he would beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Will the payment to be made on the 1st of January 1870 in respect of Income Tax and Assessed Taxes clear the payer from all such Taxes for all that year—namely, up to 1st of January 1871, or will it only clear him up to the 5th of April 1870; will not the pay- 123 ment in respect of these Taxes to be made in April 1870 be retrospective for the present year 1869; and, under the provisions of the present Financial Bill, will any payment in respect of either Income Tax or Assessed. Taxes ever again be paid in the month of April after next April 1870?
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUERSir, I am afraid it is not in my power to throw any fresh light upon this subject, but I will recapitulate how the matter stands. A convenient way to do that would be to consider first the taxes for the year 1868–9, and next for the financial year beginning April, 1869, and ending April, 1870. Now, as regards the year 1868–9, the land and house taxes have been paid. The last half of them was paid in the April just passed; therefore they are done with. As regards the income tax, the same thing has happened. The last quarter of income tax was collected in April last; so that does away with that tax for 1868–9. As regards the assessed taxes the matter is different, for they do not begin to be collected until October. None of the assessed taxes of 1868–9 have as yet been collected. One-half of them will be collected in 1869, the other half in April, 1870. That is the state of the case with regard to 1868–9. All the taxes of that year are collected except the assessed taxes. Then, as to the present financial year, 1869–70, nothing will be collected on behalf of house tax or land tax until January, 1870, and then the whole of those taxes will be collected, and nothing more will be collected on behalf of those taxes until January, 1871. As regards the assessed taxes, they are abolished and Excise licenses substituted, which will be collected in what used to be called assessed taxes for the year 1869–70 in January, 1870; and nothing more will be collected after January, 1870, on behalf of that year until January, 1871. The same thing applies exactly with regard to the income tax. No income tax will be collected from this time until the 1st of January, 1870, and on that day will be collected the income tax for the financial year beginning in April, 1869, and ending in April, 1870, and no further collection will be made until January, 1871. I hope that is a sufficient answer.