54. Captain CROOKSHANKasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware of the labour involved upon all employers of labour in filling up twice a year returns for Income Tax purposes of the wages of every weekly wage-earner employed in manual labour whose wages, etc., exceed £80 per half-year; and whether, in considering the finance for the ensuing year, he will bear in mind the desirability of simplifying this procedure in view of his recent statement that a remission of Income Tax on all incomes below £300 a year would only involve a loss of about £3,000,000 to the Exchequer, whereas such a remission would involve some diminution of the cost of the Inland Revenue Department, as well as a reduction of the clerical staff employed by many firms, with a consequent reduction to such firms of their overhead charges?
§ Mr. CHURCHILLMy hon. and gallant Friend will not expect me at this juncture to express an opinion on his proposal, in relation to which many factors obviously re-quire to be taken into consideration. I would remind my hon. and gallant Friend that, in order to effect economy in the cost of administration and a saving to employers in the making of returns, this year's Finance Act changed the system of Income Tax assessment and charge in the case of manual wage-earners from a quarterly to a half-yearly basis.