§ 51. Lieut.-Colonel JAMESasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that Mr. Marten Hale was given an award by the Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors; that the Income Tax authorities have insisted that Mr. Hale should pay some £l,600 Income Tax on this award: and whether, in view of the precedent established in the case of Lieut.-Colonel Guy Liddell, he will consent to this deduction being refunded?
§ Mr. McNEILLThe reply to the first part of my hon. and gallant Friend's question is in the affirmative. Income Tax was deducted from the award in accordance with the provisions of the 2259 Income Tax Acts. The right of the Crown to deduct tax in similar circumstances was recently confirmed by the Court of Appeal in the case of Con-stantinesco v. Rex, and in view of that decision no claim to repayment in the present case can be entertained. I ought to add that the case of Constantinesco is at present under appeal to the House of Lords. The Commissioners of Inland Revenue inform me that the last part of the question is founded upon a misapprehension.
§ Lieut.-Colonel JAMESIs my right hon. Friend aware that these two cases are not on parallel lines, and that considerable hardship is inflicted upon people upon whom litigation is forced by the Government, so that, instead of receiving an award, they are actually heavily fined?
§ Mr. McNEILLWhether the two cases are on parallel lines is a matter for judicial decision.