§ 57. Mr. G. LAMBERTasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider the practicability of assessing capital and income derived from war profit at a higher rate than pre-war capital and income, thereby making those who have profited financially by the War pay a larger share of the War expenditure than those who have been impoverished by loss of capital values, war taxation, and war prices of commodities?
§ Mr. BONAR LAWI would remind my right hon. Friend that, as regards income, what he suggests is being done already by the provisions of the recent Finance Acts, which impose the Excess Profits Duty on profits in excess of the pre-war standard, and also afford relief from Income Tax where profits have been diminished.
§ 58. Mr. LAMBERTasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will explain why, although the income brought under the review of the Income Tax Commissioners has increased from £1,238,000,000 in 1914–15 to £1,890,000,000 in 1917–18, a difference of £650,000,000, the receipts for excess profits duty, which should be 80 per cent. only reached £220,000,000 in 1917–18?
§ Mr. BONAR LAWThe actual sums paid in Excess Profits Duty do not come under review for Income Tax purposes. So far as can be estimated, business profits assessable to Income lax have shown an increase of certainly not more than £100,000,000 as between the two years cited, owing to the operation of the three years' average and the incidence of the Excess Profits Duty. Except for this sum, the increase is unrelated to the growth of business profits.