HC Deb 17 March 1953 vol 512 cc2054-5
44. Sir G. Lloyd

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury when the Committee set up by the Chancellor last year to study and report upon the difficulties which traders would experience by alterations in Purchase Tax, may be expected to report.

The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. John Boyd-Carpenter)

Since my hon. and gallant Friend put down his Question the Report of the Committee on Tax-Paid Stocks which sat under the Chairmanship of Sir Maurice Hutton has been published as a White Paper. The Government are much indebted to the Committee for their clarification of a difficult question. We accept their recommendation against any rebates in respect of tax-laden stocks on a reduction of duty or tax. Equally, when rates of duty or tax are increased, we should be averse from any Government action which prevented a trader increasing his prices. We agree, therefore, with the Committee when they say that, If the State does not intervene on the downward change, neither should it do so on the upward. The Government are also in broad agreement with the Committee in their second and third recommendations.

The questions involved in the Committee's two final recommendations are of a rather technical character which will need careful examination and may require to be discussed with the trade interests concerned. At present, therefore, I cannot make any definite statement on these two points.

Sir G. Lloyd

Regarding the Report itself, do the Government accept Recommendation 1 (b) as applicable in times of scarcity and the reimposition of price control? Is my hon. Friend aware that traders, specially small traders, throughout the country are bitterly disappointed at the findings of the Report, and are hopeful that the Government may find some way round total acceptance of the Recommendations?

Mr. Boyd-Carpenter

In reply to the first part of my hon. and gallant Friend's supplementary question, I would say that naturally in the circumstances which he has described the Government might have to re-examine the position as it then was, but the Government fully accept the principle that in normal competitive trading conditions they should not take action to prevent traders selling existing stocks at higher prices when the rates are increased. As to the second part of the supplementary question, I hope hon. Members will carefully consider in particular paragraphs 199 to 201 of the Report, where this difficult question is argued very thoughtfully.

Mr. Osborne

Have there been any representations on the Report's findings from the National Chamber of Trade?

Mr. Boyd-Carpenter

I should want notice of that question.