§ MR. HERBERT SAMUEL (Yorkshire, Cleveland)I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state what is the amount of taxation, excluding sums derived from the post offices, per head of the population in the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
§ * THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER (Mr. RITCHIE, Croydon)The amount of taxation raised by Imperial officers for Imperial and local purposes in the United Kingdom per head of population was £2 9s. 6d. for 1898–9, which was the last normal year, and is estimated at £3 2s. 4d. for the current year, which still hears some expenditure connected with the war. Figures purporting to give the per capita calculation for the United States and Germany are published in various works 77 of reference, but I think the great difference between the financial systems of the different countries makes the comparison very misleading.