§ 61. Sir FRANCIS BLAKEasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether a committee of ministers of the Presbyterian Church of England has called his attention to a grievance under which they believe they suffer in having to pay Income Tax, Schedule A, for their houses at the rate of 5s. in the £, no matter how small their earned incomes may be; whether he is aware that it was owing to a mistake or oversight in drafting that relief in such cases was not granted in 1914; and whether he will, in the forthcoming Finance Bill, provide that any person occupying a dwelling-house in respect of any office or employment shall be entitled to relief from Income Tax in respect thereof at the same rate as on his earned income, except so far as he is entitled to recover the tax from some other person or persons by way of deduction or otherwise?
§ Mr. BONAR LAWIn 1894 the Courts upheld the contention of a minister of the Free Church of Scotland that the annual value of his manse could not be regarded as part of his income for Income Tax pur- 1162 poses in determining his claim for the allowance of the statutory abatement. Consequently, a minister of a church occupying his manse under similar conditions is entitled to exclude the annual value of his manse in calculating his total income from all sources for purposes of exemption, abatement, or children's allowance—a privilege which is inconsistent with the present contention that the annual value of the manse should be included in his income for purpose of obtaining "earned" income relief.