§ MR. MAURICE HEALYI beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether, in view of the fact that the annual licence duty paid by solicitors is in effect a tax on their incomes, and one of a character not payable by any other profession, he will consider the advisability of so amending the Income Tax Acts as to allow credit for the annual licence duty as against the Income Tax payable under Schedule D?
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUERI am sorry that I misunderstood the hon. Member's question yesterday but I cannot agree with him that solicitors ought to get credit for the amount of the licence duty payable by them as against the actual Income Tax assessed upon them. They do already 1086 get credit for the licence duty by being allowed to deduct it in computing their profits, and to allow them to deduct it also from the actual Tax paid would be making the allowance twice over. A landowner might with equal justice claim to be allowed to deduct Land Tax from the Income Tax payable by him.