§ Ninth Resolution read a Second Time.
§ Motion made, and Question proposed, "That this House doth agree with the Committee in the said Resolution."
§ The Attorney-GeneralThis Resolution is designed to deal with the funds which are vested as enemy property in the Custodian of Enemy Property. Under a 1246 decision of the courts shortly after the last war, the beneficial property in such funds is, as it were, in suspense. Take "XY" as an enemy, or technically an enemy, owning £10,000 here and producing whatever it does a year—that money is vested in the Custodian and ceases to be the income or the estate of "XY," certainly for Surtax or Estate Duty purposes. It may be that Income Tax itself can be levied, but not Surtax or Death Duties, and if the income was a small one you could not repay the allowances. The object of the Clause, which will be based on this Resolution, is to enable tax to be collected in respect of the income on the estates of enemy property under the control of the Custodian in the ordinary way. If income is liable to Income Tax and Surtax, such taxes can be handed over to the Revenue. If the owner of the property dies, Estate Duty can be contributed to the extent to which the estate is liable. That is the purpose of the Clause.
§ Question, "That this House doth agree with the Committee in the said Resolution," put, and agreed to.