1. "That, in addition to the Duties of Customs now payable on spirits imported into Great Britain or Ireland, there shall be charged levied, and paid the Duty following, that is to say):—
"Spirits in bottle (including perfumed spirits and liqueurs, cordials, mixtures, and other preparations in bottle entered in such a manner as to indicate that the strength is not to be tested) the liquid gallon… One Shilling."
§ * SIR CHARLES DILKEsaid that on Friday night the Chancellor of the Exchequer was asked if he could give the Committee any figures at all on the subject of his new proposal for the surtax on bottled spirits and bottled perfumes. The House had full statistics on the subject of bottled wines, but they had no figures before them with regard to the tax on bottled spirits, because the Customs had not hitherto distinguished between bottled spirits and spirits imported in cask. There was, however, a report from the Consular district of Bordeaux, from which a considerable amount of brandy was shipped to this country, and from that report he gathered that the trade in bottled brandy sent to this country was very large indeed. He imagined that the trade which would be hit by this tax was especially the trade in high-class French brandy, liqueurs, and high-class perfumes. The trade in high-class bottled brandy from Bordeaux alone last year was 325,000 bottles. That was an enormous quantity, and he should be glad if the Chancellor of the Exchequer could place before the House any figures with regard to the effect of this tax.
§ MR. LOUGHsaid he would like to understand the principle on which the right hon. Gentleman was proceeding, and asked whether the proposed tax made any differentiation in favour of home-made spirits.
* THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER (Sir M.HICKS-BEACH, Bristol, W.)There will be no differentiation between the spirits manufactured in this country and foreign spirits not imported in bottle. With regard to the question asked 686 by the right hon. Baronet, the Member for the Forest of Dean, it is true that there are no existing statistics showing the amount of spirits imported in the year in bottle and in cask, but from figures for two months, which I have taken out, it may fairly be calculated that for the year there would be roughly an import of bottled spirits of 1,200,000 gallons, and of this amount, not far short of two-thirds would be brandy. The rest would be made up from the different classes of spirits, some less and some more valuable.