§ 13. Mr. Lewisasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what revenue was received by the Treasury during the last financial year from taxation of dividends on shares and unearned income generally t and how much this sum would have been increased if there had been an additional old-age pension levy of Is. in the £ on all taxes resulting from unearned income.
§ Mr. SimonI regret that the information asked for in the first part of the Question is not available. It is not practicable to apportion the tax revenue from mixed incomes between earned and investment income. It follows that the information asked for in the second part of the Question is also not available.
§ Mr. LewisAs the overwhelming majority of the poorer people and those on low incomes cannot afford increased contributions under the National Insurance scheme, will the Chancellor, if and 1406 when he increases old-age pensions, adopt the suggestion in my Question? The overwhelming majority of the people feel that it is better to stop this money out of unearned income than out of income which is earned by the sweat of the worker's brow.
§ Mr. SimonThe supplementary question rests on a hypothetical basis, but I will draw the hon. Gentleman's suggestion to the attention of my right hon. Friend.