§ * MR. DELANY (Queen's County, Ossory)I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he can inform the House what contribution the shipowners of the United Kingdom make to the Imperial Revenue; and whether, bearing in mind that the increase in Navy expenditure has been mainly incurred in the interest of the mercantile service, he will consider the advisability of imposing a special tax on the tonnage of vessels.
§ SIR M. HICKS BEACHShipowners pay income tax and other taxes like other persons. They also pay fees for special services to the various Departments rendering them, such as the Board of Trade and the Customs. Some of these are paid direct by the shipowners; others come out of the light dues, which amount to about £500,000 a year, and are 1436 collected from shipowners. I pointed out the other day that, in my opinion, shipowners would contribute through the coal duty to the revenue, but I am not prepared to suggest such a special tax as is referred to in the question.