§ MR. MALLET (Plymouth)To ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether agreements made for twelve months, with payment in advance, between the National Telephone Company and their renters are now chargeable with an ad valorem stamp duty; and, if so, on what grounds a charge is made in these cases, which is not made in the case of other annual contracts where payment is made in advance.
§ (Answered by Mr. Asquith.) The agreements in question have been declared by the House of Lords to be chargeable with ad valorem duty under the head "Bond, Covenant, etc.," in the Schedule to The Stamp Act, 1891. No distinction is made between these agreements and others of a similar nature.