§ 22. Mr. ANDERSONasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will cause an examination to be made of the books of Government contractors, and of the shipowning, farming, food, and coal firms, with a view to ascertaining the present and prospective profits that such interests are making out of the War; 781 whether he will make public the result of the inquiry; and whether he has considered the question of levying a special tax upon profits obtained from the War emergency?
§ Mr. LLOYD GEORGEI am afraid that under the present law the Income Tax authorities scarcely possess powers of the precise nature and extent implied in the first part of the question. But my hon. Friend may rest assured that the profits he mentions will be fully assessed.