§ (1) Income tax shall not be charged in respect of a sewer vested in a local authority in the United Kingdom:
§ Providing that the foregoing exemption shall not extend to any rent payable or other annual payment to be made by the local authority in respect of the sewer.
§
(2) In this section—
The expression "sewer" means a sewer maintained by a local authority in pursuance of their statutory duties in relation to the public health;
The expression "local authority" means a public body having power under any enactment relating to the public health to construct and maintain sewers.—[Mr. Leslie Scott.]
§ Brought up, and read the first time.
§ Mr. LESLIE SCOTTI beg to move, "That the Clause be read a Second time."
This is simply to remove what is an admitted anomaly that has arisen out of the inicidence of judicial decisions and has resulted in underground sewers which are essentially public property in character being treated as income-earning properties. The whole of the local authorities of the country are agreed about it, and I believe the Government agree to the Clause.
§ Sir R. HORNEI accept this Clause.
§ Captain W. BENNI am slightly interested in this, because I believe that the authorities concerned with these matters in Scotland act under rather different laws from those in England. I am informed, for example, that the authority which is called the Leith Water Purification Board would not be included in the definition of a local authority as laid down in the Clause. All I ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer to do is to carry out between now and the Report stage what is obviously intended, namely, to give an authority of the kind the same 1280 advantages which he is now proposing to give to other local authorities.
§ Sir R. HORNEThe Leith Water Purification Board is a statutory authority, and comes within the terms of the proposed Clause.
§ Captain BENNIt is under a local Act.
§ Sir R. HORNEI will look into the matter before the Report stage.
§ Clause read a Second time, and added to the Bill.