§ 55. Mr. Jayasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will now introduce a tax on capital gains.
§ Mr. H. BrookeMy right hon. Friend is not prepared to add at this season to the reply given by his predecessor on 12th July, 1955, to a similar Question from the right hon. Member.
§ Mr. JayDoes the Financial Secretary realise that he will have to do better than that, and that we are one of the few industrial countries left without a tax of this kind? Does he realise that many salary earners and wage earners feel increasingly that it is unfair that these gains should be tax-free?
§ Mr. BrookeThe right hon. Gentleman will be aware that the case for and the case against such a tax was argued at length in the Report of the Royal Commission on the Taxation of Profits and Income, a Report which is now under consideration by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.