§ Mr. GIBSON BOWLESasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in view of the statement made on behalf of His Majesty's Government that in the whole of the 245 Income Tax Acts there is no definition of "income," can he say whether the Commissioners of Inland Revenue have adopted any definition of that word, and especially of the signification in which they use it when requiring a statement of income or a statement of income from all sources; and will he direct the Commissioners either to abstain from using a word which has no statutory meaning or to afford to the taxpayers a full explanation of the meaning which they attach to it?
§ Mr. HOBHOUSELiability to Income Tax is imposed not on income, but on profits. In making returns for Super-tax or claims to exemption, abatement, or relief from ordinary Income Tax, individuals are required to furnish the total amount of their income from all sources, estimated according to the several rules and directions of the Income Tax Acts; and in this connection I may refer my hon. Friend to Section 164 and to No. XVII. of Schedule G, Section 190, of the Income Tax Act, 1842.
§ Mr. GIBSON BOWLESCannot the right hon. Gentleman give a plain answer to a plain question? Can he or the Income Tax Commissioners say what "income" is, and, if they can, will they tell the taxpayers?
§ Mr. HOBHOUSEI should have thought the answer was very plain.