§ 32. Colonel GOODMANasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether his attention has been called to the different dates upon which the year is presumed to end in respect of national finances and, in particular, to the provisions whereby the year is regarded as ending on 5th April in respect of Income Tax, on 24th March in respect of Land Tax, and on 31st March in respect of the revenue and expenditure figures as contained in the Financial Statement; and whether, with a view to simplification, he will consider the selection of one date for the ending of the financial year?
§ The FINANCIAL SECRETARY to the TREASURY (Mr. Duff Cooper)Yes, Sir, my attention has been called to this matter and the question of assimilating the ending date of the year of assessment to the ending date of the State's financial year has been considered; but as no real inconvenience arises from the present system, which is due to historical causes, and as any alteration would cause considerable complications, it has been decided that no action in the matter is necessary.