§ 60. Mr. Stokesasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his attention has been drawn to the sale of the Ifield estate of 1,200 acres in Sussex, on 23rd July; whether he is aware that it cost £50,000 before the war; that it fetched £128,000 at the first auction and was sold for a greater sum at the two subsequent sales on the same day; and what steps he proposes to take to collect these increased values for the Treasury?
§ Sir J. AndersonOn the general question of the liability to Excess Profits Tax of the profits arising from the sale of land, I would refer the hon. Member to the answers given by my predecessor to his previous Questions on the subject, in particular those of the 13th June, 1940, and 9th and 30th September, 1941. The hon. 1215 Member will appreciate that in view of the conditions which govern direct taxation I cannot give any information regarding the liability to tax of individual taxpayers.
§ Mr. StokesDoes the Chancellor regard these particular transactions as being carried out in the course of trade or business?
§ Sir J. AndersonThat must depend on the facts, and I could not make any disclosure as to the facts of a case.