§ SIR JOHN TUKE (Edinburgh and St. Andrews Universities)I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he proposes to impose the corporation tax (1894) on the Royal Colleges of Physicians in London and Edinburgh, having regard to the fact that the two colleges administer and regulate medical education and examination; maintain laboratories for original research; that they are consulted by Government and by municipal authorities in matters relating to public health and medical matters generally; and that each fellow of the colleges is required to pay a stamp duty of £25 on election as fellow, whereas the Royal Institution of Civil Engineers has, by a decision of the House of Lords, been exempted from payment of the corpora- 511 tion tax; and whether, in face of the fact that the corporation tax has never been levied, he proposes to make the Royal Colleges liable for five years of arrears, thus placing a strain on the resources of two bodies who perform the services indicated for the State.
§ SIR M. HICKS BEACHThe question of the liability of the Royal Colleges of Physicians in London and Edinburgh to pay Corporation Duty was raised by the Board of Inland Revenue in 1894, but was disputed by the Colleges. It was allowed to remain in abeyance pending a decision on a similar claim, made on the Royal College of Surgeons, which has since been decided in favour of the Crown by the Court of Appeal. Following this decision the Board of Inland Revenue feel compelled to press their claim on the Royal Colleges of Physicians. The facts of the case differ from those in the case of the Royal Institution of Civil Engineers.