§ 64. Mr. MUGGERIDGEasked the Secretary of State for War whether any part of the cost of the British Army in China maintained there for the protection of British subjects residing in Shanghai and elsewhere in China is paid by such subjects either through the Income Tax or in any other way.
§ The SECRETARY of STATE for WAR (Mr. T. Shaw)If my hon. Friend is referring to the troops in the Shanghai and Tientsin areas, the answer is in the negative, except in so far as the Shanghai Municipal Council reduce the cost of the troops stationed at Shanghai by exempting from municipal taxation all lands and buildings occupied by them and allowing unoccupied land and buildings to be utilised rent free, and in so far as the British residents, in the same way as any other British residents abroad, may be liable to British Income Tax.
§ Mr. HAYCOCKDoes not my right hon. Friend think that the people who own Shanghai should pay for the defence of Shanghai, and not the people of this country?