HC Deb 16 July 1947 vol 440 cc501-2
Mr. Glenvil Hall

I beg to move, in page 41, line 11, at the beginning, to insert: (1) This Part of this Act so far as it increases any duty chargeable under or by reference to the heading 'Conveyance or Transfer whether on sale or otherwise,' the heading 'Conveyance or Transfer on sale,' or the heading 'Lease or Tack,' in the First Schedule to the Stamp Act, 1891, shall not apply in any case where the conveyance, transfer or letting is made or agreed to be made to a body of persons established for charitable purposes only or to the trustees of a trust so established: Provided that no instrument not stamped with the duty to which it would apart from this Subsection be liable shall be deemed by virtue of this Subsection to be duly stamped unless it has in accordance with the provisions of Section twelve of the Stamp Act, 1891, been stamped with a particular stamp denoting that it is duly stamped. The object of this Amendment is to exempt from the additional duties set forth in Clause 43, conveyances, transfers or leases to charities. Such documents will, accordingly, remain liable at the old rate, instead of at the new doubled rate as from 1st August. As the House will remember, when we were dealing with this matter in Committee, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in response to pressure from various quarters of the Committee, agreed to see what he could do, when we reached the Report stage, to take out of the incidence of the new duties charities of one kind or another. That is what we are doing here. The word "charities" is used in the broad legal sense, and includes religious bodies.

Mr. Keeling (Twickenham)

This Amendment gives effect to a promise which the Chancellor gave on an Amendment which I moved, and I should like to thank him for it. Perhaps I might be allowed to explain that this Amendment will exempt from the doubling of the duty, transfers to charities not only of land but of stocks, and it will be a very substantial advantage to charities. The Chancellor's original proposals in the Finance Bill are usually very harsh and hard, but I would like to give him credit for yielding to suggestions concerning charities.

Amendment agreed to.