§ 51. Mr. Ammonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated loss to the revenue since poundage charges on postal orders were suspended; and whether, seeing that the chief benefit through such suspension accrues to those engaged in gambling, he will restore the former practice?
§ Sir J. SimonI hope to announce a decision at an early date. In reply to the first part of the question, no real estimate can be given; on the hypothesis that the use of postal orders for remittance purposes, apart from use in connection with the pools, had continued on the same scale as before the war, the loss of revenue to date due to the absence of poundage might have been roughly £450,000, of which, however, only a small proportion would be attributable to orders used in connection with pools since they recommenced on a reduced scale last month.