§ Mr. Henry HopkinsonI desire to present to the House a humble Petition on behalf of the part-time retained firemen of the fire brigades of England and Wales. It bears 11,237 signatures.
The Petition states that these firemen receive annual retaining fees on which they pay Income Tax. They also receive certain other fees for responding to fire calls, referred to by Statute as "fire call attendance and turn-out fees," which are also subject to Income Tax.
The Petitioners point out that their services are given at any time of the day or night at instant notice in the interests of the public and are in no way connected with their normal occupations. They assert that the hardship caused by the payment of Income Tax on the "fire call attendance and turn-out fees" is leading to the dissolution of the part-time retained firemen's service.
658 The Petition concludes with this Prayer:
Wherefore your Petitioners pray that by virtue of the public and humanitarian services for which they are received, the said small payments may be by statute exempted from taxation, and your Petitioners, as in duty bound, ever pray.
§ To lie upon the Table.