§ 61. Sir W. DAVISONasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total sum raised in taxation in Great Britain, France, and Germany, respectively, in 1913–14; what are the amounts now being raised; and what is the estimated amount of taxation payable per head of the population in each of the three countries prior to the War and at present?
§ Sir R. HORNEThe statement is in tabular form, and, with my hon. Friend's permission, I will circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Sir W. DAVISONDoes the return show that Germany is now raising less than seventy millions sterling per year in taxation as against about £900,000,000 raised in this country?
§ Sir R. HORNEI may say off hand that that cannot be a true account of the position. I really beg hon. Members to appreciate the great difficulty in assessing the precise amount which the German people pay at the present time on account of the enormous variation in the currency with which they are dealing. They put on a tax one day on the supposition it will yield a particular revenue in the course of the year, but the variation the next day puts that entirely out of the picture.
§ Sir J. BUTCHERIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that Germany is in fact taxed far loss than the people of this country?
§ Sir R. HORNEThere is great controversy on that question.
§ Mr. W. GRAHAMIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that quite recently our 2025 own expert—not a foreign expert at all—reported that 43 per cent. of the total income of Germany is now taken in taxation?
| Taxation Revenue. | ||||||
| — | Unit of Currency. | Amount. | Per Head. | |||
| 1913 or 1913–14. | 1921 or 1921–22. | 1913 or 1913–14. | 1921 or 1921–22. | |||
| United Kingdom | … | £ | 163,035,000 | 856,713,000* | 3.5 | 18.2 |
| France | … | Francs | 3,360,000,000 | 18,523,000,000 | 84.5 | 472.4 |
| Germany | … | Marks | 2,110,000,000 | 61,991,000,000 | 31.3 | 1,033.2 |
| * Net taxation receipts for the year, 1921–22, now available. |