§ 39. Mr. LEONARDasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to make the information available as to the total amount of Surtax collected in 1931 from the 12,000 persons who in 1932 dropped below the level at which liability to Surtax would fall upon them?
§ The FINANCIAL SECRETARY to the TREASURY (Mr. Hore-Belisha)An inquiry to ascertain this information would involve considerable expenditure of time and labour, and in these circumstances I regret I cannot see my way to undertake it.
§ Mr. LEONARDDoes the hon. Member appreciate the difficulty of assessing the proper value of the figures already given unless the amounts appertaining to each return are also made available?
Mr. WILLIAMSIs it not a fact that the 12,000 were not 12,000 special individuals, but the difference between the number assessed one year and the next?
§ Mr. HORE-BELISHAYes, Sir. I think that is roughly the case. I am sure my hon. Friend opposite will appreciate that it would be difficult to analyse the returns of 12,000 people out of 100,000 people concerned.
§ 40. Mr. LEONARDasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether reliable information can be made available to explain the marked decline in the amount of Surtax collectable from £76,700,000 in 1931–32 to £51,000,000 in the current year's Estimates; and whether he has any information as to the extent of the decline due to legal evasion?
§ Mr. HORE-BELISHAThe decline in the yield of surtax to which the hon. Member refers is to be attributed to shrinkage of income and not to growth of evasion. That shrinkage of income is due to the fall in all kinds of income, but 1985 particularly in profits, dividends and interest which has taken place in recent years.