§ Mr. LANE-FOXasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he can state approximately what is the present proportion of local and Imperial taxation, respectively, paid by rateable property in this country; and, if not whether the calculation has ever been made officially in the past, and with what result?
§ Mr. HOBHOUSEAn attempt to classify Imperial and local taxation on the basis suggested in the question was made in a Return presented to the House of Commons by the President of the Poor Law Board in 1870 (House of Commons 470 of 1870). It would not be difficult to apply the method of classification therein adopted to the figures of local and Imperial revenue for any subsequent year down to the present, but it has now for many years been generally recognised that such analyses provide no real indication of the comparative incidence of taxation as between the owners of different kinds of properties.