§ 5 and 6. Mr. Pitmanasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) the new basis adopted by the Inland Revenue and accepted by the Public Trustee for the valuation of the copyright of the late George Bernard Shaw's estate; how it differed from the basis hitherto adopted by the Inland Revenue; and why it differed;
(2) what total annual income, before tax, what rate of interest and what rate of change in receipts from copyright need to be assumed over three and seven years and the life of the copyright to provide for a valuation of £500,000 under the new basis of valuation.
§ Mr. H. MacmillanThe only basis of valuation of copyrights for Estate Duty purposes is the statutory one, namely, the price which they would have fetched if sold in the open market at the time of the death of the deceased. There is not, and never has been, any standard formula or rule for applying this basis to particular cases. Valuation is made in each case by reference to its own facts in the light of expert opinion obtained. No question of old or new bases of valuation therefore arises.
§ Mr. PitmanCould my right hon. Friend then give an assurance that in the case of other authors who produce copyright and die, there will be no change whatever in the basis of valuation and that, therefore, taking say A. A. Milne and Bernard Shaw in comparison, there is no likelihood of any increase in the estates of other authors by reason of the present decision?
§ Mr. MacmillanYes, Sir: both my hon. Friend and I have some experience in this matter in another capacity, and I assure him that the method of valuation has always been the same and will continue to be the same.
§ Mr. UsborneApproximately how much is it likely to cost the British Museum to contest this case? In the event of winning, how much does it expect to gain as a result of the action?
§ Mr. MacmillanI could not possibly give those figures.