§ MR. GRETTON (Derbyshire, S.)I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will state the total number of persons in the United Kingdom paying income tax; how many of the total pay on the full amount of their declared incomes and how many pay subject to abatements; and it he can state what proportion of the total tax was paid subject to abatements for the year ending 31st December, 1901.
§ SIR M. HICKS BEACHThe number of abatements allowed in the year ending 31st March. 1901, the latest year for which figures are available, was about 600,000. It is not possible to say what portion of the total tax was paid by the 600,000 persons in question, nor what the total number of persons paying income tax was in that, or any other year. For it must be remembered that about two-thirds of the income tax is collected, not from the individuals who finally enjoy the income, but at the source from which the income is derived. It is therefore impossible ever, to say from the income tax returns either what the number of income tax payers may be, or what is the aggregate income of individual taxpayers.