§ SIR SEYMOUR KING (Hull, Central)To ask the Secretary of State for India whether, in view of the improved condition of the finances in India since the income-tax was introduced, he will consider the advisability of raising the minimum of taxable income from the present low level of 500 rupees, or £33 per annum, to a figure more closely approximating to that fixed in the much richer community of the United Kingdom, viz., £160, or Rs. 2,400; and whether, in any case, the principle of relief to earned small incomes will be introduced and applied in India as in this country.
§ (Answered by Mr. Secretary Morley.) The minimum of taxable income was raised in March, 1903, from Rs.500 (£33) to Rs.1,000 (£66) a year. The maximum rate of tax is much lower than in the United Kingdom, viz., 6d. in the pound, incomes between Rs.1,000 and Rs.2,000 (£66 and £133) are taxed at 5d. in the 945 pound, and incomes derived from agriculture are exempt. There is no intention of introducing further differentiation.