§ 34. Mr. Lewisasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, under tax practice, payments made by employers to an employers' association are allowable for tax relief; and whether payments made by such associations for newspaper advertisements stating the employers' case in an industrial dispute also qualify for relief.
§ The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. J. Enoch Powell)I am advised that payments by employers to employers' associations which are applied towards the cost of such advertisements, and the corresponding outlay by employers' associations, rank for tax purposes as admissible revenue expenditure.
§ Mr. LewisI observe that the "reds" are predominant today, judging by the buttonholes which are being worn. Does the hon. Gentleman's reply mean that, in effect, the day-to-day full-page advertisements in the national Press during the recent strike, which cost hundreds of thousands of pounds, were paid for by Her Majesty's Government in that the employers are allowed complete tax relief on them? Does it mean that, in fact, the taxpayers have paid for the advertisements?
§ Mr. PowellNo, Sir; that is not the result at all. These are trade expenses allowable like any other form of advertising.