§ MR. MEEHAN (Queen's County, Leix)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury what provision, if any, has been made to compensate collectors of income-tax, under Schedule A, in Ireland, for loss of poundage fees consequent on the sade of estates under The Land Act, 1903; (2) if he is aware that poundage fees for 1903 and 1904 are yet unpaid; (3) whether, in view of the promise made by the Comptroller of Inland Revenue to make good the diminution of poundage fees between the former and present collections, he will say how many claims were sent in; (4) if payments have yet been made; (5) if not, when will payments be made; (6) if he is aware that a clause was formerly inserted in the terms of appointment, providing that as the tax had been decreased, or increased, the rate of poundage named was computed to yield about the same remuneration as the previous year, and will he explain why this clause has been omitted from term of appointment for 1905 and 1906; and (7) whether he can say if the work of collection has been increased and the poundage reduced, and (8) if steps will be taken to bring up the salary to the amount it formerly was, and collectors be paid fair wages for the work they perform.
§ MR. MCKENNA(1) No general regulation has been made on the subject, but the Board of Inland Revenue have undertaken to consider cases of hardship on their merits; (2) poundage fees for 1903–4 have all been paid, and also those for 1904–5 with a few exceptions, where the accounts have not yet been finally closed; (3) no promise, other than that indicated above, has been made. In accordance with it thirty-two claims have been received in respect of the two years, of which twenty have been granted, three have been refused on the ground that the Land Act has made no material change in 636 the collector's duties, and nine are still under consideration; (4) payment of the twenty claims admitted has been made; (5) claims cannot be paid until they are admitted; (6) the clause in question is only applicable in years in which a change is made in the rate of the income-tax; (7) the tendency of the sale of estates is to diminish the amount of tax to be collected, and therefore the amount of work in collecting. Poundage has certainly not been reduced, except when the rate of income-tax has been increased; (8) every endeavour will be used to make wages appropriate to the work performed, but until the effect of the Land Purchase Act on the business of the collectors has been more fully developed, it is not possible to fix a new scale of remuneration that will be appropriate to the new conditions that are in course of being established.