§ 61. Captain WALTER SHAWasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will undertake to bring in the necessary legislation to provide, where the inspector for Income Tax assessment declines to accept the auditor's figures of a business firm for Income Tax assessment purposes, and where the firm is even informed of the precise date on which the appeal will be heard and then, shortly before the date notified for the hearing of the case, is informed that the Board have accepted the firm's basis of values and that they have therefore withdrawn the appeal, that the expenses incurred by the defendants in employing auditor and solicitors shall be defrayed by the Treasury?
§ Mr. R. McNEILLI do not think that the case which my hon. and gallant Friend describes affords sufficient ground for the introduction of legislation designed to modify the long-established practice under which the Crown neither receives nor pays costs in connection with appeals to the local or Special Commissioners of Income Tax.
§ Captain SHAWIs the right hon. Gentleman aware of the intense feeling there is in regard to this matter, in which the Government are in the wrong, and acknowledged to be in the wrong, and is he not of opinion that they should make restitution to the business firms which have had to pay out of their own pockets expenses which they would not have incurred if it had not been for the action of the Crown?
§ Mr. SPEAKERThat is in the question on the Paper.