§ 6. "That income-tax charged under Schedule D in the Income-Tax Act, 1853, 959 on professions, trades, or vocations shall, in the case of professions, trades, or vocations which have been set up or commenced within the three years on which the average income is to be computed under the Income-Tax Acts or within the year of assessment, be charged with reference to the actual profits or gains arising in the year of assessment."
§ MR. SAMUEL ROBERTS (Sheffield, Ecclesall)moved to omit the words "one shilling" and insert "elevenpence." In support of this Amendment he relied upon the statement of former Chancellors of the Exchequer who had promised that the income-tax payer ought to be the first to be relieved. What had happened? To meet the expenditure upon the war the income-tax was raised to a very large amount. When the war commenced it stood at 8d. It was then raised to 1s., then to 1s. 2d., and afterwards to 1s. 3d. In 1903 it was lowered to-11d., but when the corn duty was taken off in 1904 the income-tax was again raised to 1s., at which figure it now remained. The war taxes had been taken off tea, corn, coal, and partly off tobacco, but the income-taxpayer had received no relief at all. In introducing the Budget last year, the Chancellor of the Exchequer said that an income tax at the uniform rate of 1s. in the pound at a time of peace was impossible to justify. Surely when the right hon. Gentleman made that speech he meant a general reduction of the tax, and he had not the subject of differentiation or graduation in his mind. Clearly his meaning was that the tax was too high all round. His proposal was that relief to the extent of one 1d. in the pound should be given to the income-tax payer. He did not quarrel with differentiation, but the tax ought to be reduced all round this year, and then the right hon. Gentleman might bring in a scheme for differentiation next year. Those who sat in Opposition desired to impress strongly upon the Chancellor of the Exchequer that the time had arrived when he must find new sources of revenue, and they were anxious to bring grist to the Chancellor of the Exchequer's mill by taxing foreign manufactured articles. [Cheers from the LABOUR BENCHES.] He welcomed those cheers, and he ventured to say that when the 960 question of tariff reform was again raised the demand for it would come from the working classes. What they required was a small tax of 5 per cent, on manufactured goods—
§ MR. SAMUEL ROBERTSsaid that all the great authorities on taxation were against a high income-tax. They all knew that Mr. Gladstone favoured doing away with the income-tax altogether, and he brought it down to 3d. in 1873, and when the Conservative Government came into power they reduced it to 2d.
§ And, it being a quarter-past Eight of the clock, Further Proceeding was postponed without Question put, pursuant to Standing Order No. 4.