HC Deb 06 July 1926 vol 197 cc1908-9

In the case of an assessment to Income Tax made at any time after the fifth day of April, nineteen hundred and twenty-three, an application under Section twenty-four of the Finance Act, 1923 (which relates to relief in respect of error or mistake), may be made at any time not later than six years after the end of the year of assessment within which the assessment was made.—[Mr. McNeill]

Brought up, and read the First time.

Mr. McNEILL

I beg to move, "That the Clause be read a Second time."

This Clause is also put down in fulfilment of a promise made during the Committee stage. The case was presented to the Committee by my hon. Friend the Member for Guildford (Sir Henry Buckingham), and the Chancellor of the Exchequer then said that if my hon. Friend would withdraw the Clause which was down for consideration in Committee, but was not in the best form for carrying out the object in view, on the Report stage he would put down a New Clause to carry out the object. The Clause requires very little explanation. It is not very often that Clauses in the Finance Bill are so simple. It carries on the face of it what it is intended to do. It gives the taxpayer who wishes to make a claim for redress in respect of any error of assessment made against him, the opportunity of doing that for a period of six years instead of three years under the existing law. My right hon. Friend in accepting the principle said that it would be necessary to make the concession entirely prospective and not retrospective. That has been carried out in the terms of the new Clause.

Sir HENRY BUCKINGHAM

On behalf of future generations of taxpayers I thank the Chancellor of the Exchequer for having kept his promise in regard to this matter. I only regret that he has not seen his way to make the Clause retrospective, in which case it would have covered certain hard cases which I have in mind. Future generations of taxpayers will, however, always be grateful to my right hon. Friend for this concession.

Question put, and agreed to.

Clause read a Second time, and added to the Bill.