§ MR. HERMONasked Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Whether he is aware that, in opposition to the decision of this House on the 9th June last, his assessors did issue forms for returns of Income Tax requiring employers to state the amounts of the salaries they paid to their clerks and assistants?
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER, in reply, said, he must first correct the hon. Gentleman's Question. The assessors were not his assessors in the sense that they were the assessors of the Treasury. Practically, they were officers appointed by the district commissioners, over whom he had no control; he could not, therefore, give as much information on the subject as he would have been able to do if the assessors had been directly under the Treasury. He stated, however, that two kinds of forms were issued — one designed for companies, with a column for the salaries of those employed, as under the old system; the other for private firms, requiring the names of those liable to be assessed, and the position they occupied, but not requiring a statement of the salaries given. The presumption, therefore, was that what the hon. Member complained of had not been done.
§ MR. HERMONstated, in reply, that a form such as the Chancellor of the Exchequer described as being exclusively designed for companies had been left with his own firm.