§ MR. SEARS (Cheltenham)To ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Board of Inland Revenue have obtained a Return from surveyors of taxes showing the amount of income-tax paid to revenue in respect of income which escaped assessment or was insufficiently assessed and subsequently recovered in England and Wales for a period of ten years; will he state the total amount of additional duty paid to the revenue as shown by such Return, and the number of taxpayers concerned, and in respect of how many years the back duty was recovered; and will he state the amount remitted as conscience money during the same period.
(Answered by Mr. Asquith.) No such Return has been obtained by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue. As regards so-called "conscience money," a considerable proportion of the payments are not accompanied by any evidence whether they are in respect of income tax or other taxes or debts due to the Exchequer. Any Return which could be 521 given in connection with an inquiry relating to income tax would therefore necessarily be misleading.