§ LORD R. CECIL (Marylebone, E.)I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in spite of the judicial decision in the case of Cooper v. Blakiston, the Board of Inland Revenue are 30 still demanding through their officers in various parts of the country the payment of income tax by the clergy upon Easter offerings; and, if so, what is the justification for this course.
§ THE CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER (Mr. ASQUITH, Fifeshire, E.)The case of Cooper v. Blakiston is being carried to the Court of Appeal, and meanwhile it is not desirable to give to it any wider application than may be absolutely necessary. Whether or no it should be applied to any particular case must depend upon the precise circumstances of the case, and upon the view taken of them by the District Commissioners of Income Tax. But, wherever the Commissioners consider it right to do so, the Board of Inland Revenue have instructed their surveyors to allow matters to remain in suspense, pending a decision by the Court of Appeal.