HC Deb 21 March 1963 vol 674 c544
9. Miss Quennell

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the administrative cost to his department involved in making a distinction between earned and unearned income for fiscal purposes.

Mr. Boyd-Carpenter

Very small.

Miss Quennell

Can my right. hon. Friend be a little more specific?

Mr. Boyd-Carpenter

I am afraid I cannot, because again this is work which is undertaken as part of the general work of officers of the Inland Revenue. It is quite unrealistic to try to say that this particular one of their functions costs a specific amount of their salaries.

Miss Quennell

In that case, will my right hon. Friend introduce modern costing methods into his rather overworked machine?

Mr. Boyd-Carpenter

I think that our costing methods are extremely efficient, but none the less that does not enable us to split the atom.