§ *MR. C. HARRISON (Plymouth)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury—(1) whether, having regard to the question addressed by the Royal Commission on Agriculture to Sir Alfred Milner and his memorandum in reply (Appendix A, xxxiii), stating the great inadequacy of the materials he possessed to solve the problem contained in the question, the proposed inquiry under the Royal Commission as to the incidence of taxation will extend to all taxation on rateable property, including for instance the House Duty and its preferential exemptions in favour of farmhouses, as well as to taxation on non-rateable property; and (2) whether, as the division of property in England into realty and personalty is a division based on a legal and not on an economic or material distinction, the Inquiry will extend to a determination of how much taxation is borne by moveable as compared with immovable property?
§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE TREASURYIn answer to the hon. Gentleman, I have to say we are not of opinion that it would be possible to submit to this Commission an investigation into the whole question of imperial and local taxation. The question would be too large, although, no doubt, the two hang together, and no Commission could possibly deal with it. With regard to the second paragraph, I think it would be in the competence of the Commission under the existing reference to deal with the subject if they thought fit.