§ I now pass to the other part of the Income Tax, namely the Surtax. In addition to his liability to the standard rate, the Surtax payer is already liable to surtax on a sliding scale rising to 7s. 6d. in the £. Under my proposals, the payer at the standard rate has to face the increase of 6d. and a steeper graduation, and in the case of the Surtax payer, I propose, in addition to this increase in the standard rate, to put an increase of 10 per cent. on the amount of his Surtax bill. That will be the easiest way to do it this year, and it will save a vast amount of administrative work and will give us the yield. It will give us £4,000,000 in the current year and £6,000,000 in a full year, making, with the changes in standard rate, a total from Income Tax of £29,000,000 this year and £57,500,000 next year.
§ This completes my proposals with regard to direct taxation. They involve an increase in the burden placed upon existing taxpayers and an extension of the Income Tax over a somewhat wider range of incomes. After the deductions and allowances have been made, it will be seen, by anyone who makes the calculation, that the amount of Income Tax paid by those in the lower ranges, I will not say will be comparatively negligible, but very small indeed. I submit these proposals to the Committee as representing the fairest method of raising the large amount of direct taxation required.