HC Deb 30 May 1963 vol 678 cc1683-5

  1. (1) Where after the passing of this Mt a person makes any payment which is subject to deduction of tax by virtue of section 169 or 170 of the Act of 1952. then if the recipient so requests in writing the payer shall furnish the recipient with a statement in writing show- 1684 ing the gross amount of the payment, the amount of tax deducted and the actual amount paid.
  2. (2) The duty imposed by the foregoing subsection shall be enforceable at the suit or instance of the person requesting the statement. — [Mr. Bingham.]

Brought up, and read the First time.

Mr. Bingham

I beg to move, That the Clause be read a Second time.

The object of the Clause is to fill a modest gap in the present Revenue law and I hope, in the spirit of the last speech, that it is likely to prove entirely non-contentious.

At present, there are many cases where the payer pays to a recipient regular sums of money under deduction of tax. In such circumstances the reasonable payer will give to the recipient a certificate of the amount of tax deducted, the purpose being to enable the payee to obtain the proper assessment of his own position with the Revenue.

I believe that certain forms are provided by the Revenue for that purpose, but if the payer is an unreasonable person, either through laziness or stubbornness, there is at present no general obligation on him to provide a certificate. In certain special cases there is an obligation to provide a certificate, but not a general one. Fortunately, most payers are reasonable and the problem does not often arise, but where the payer, for reasons of his own, is unreasonable, great trouble and hardship can be caused, and it is to meet this situation that I have moved the new Clause.

10.15 p.m.

Mr. Barber

This Clause, as my hon. and learned Friend pointed out, makes it obligatory for a person who pays interest or other annual payments subject to deduction of Income Tax at the standard rate to give the recipient, if he requests it in writing, a certificate of tax deduction. The recipient of the payment from which tax has been deducted needs it to produce to the Inspector of Taxes in support of a claim for repayment of tax.

The Royal Commission on the Taxation of Profits and Income recommended that it should be obligatory on the payer to furnish a certificate if the recipient required him to do so. The Institute of Taxation in its Budget representations this year recommended that the matter should now be dealt with. When a deputation from the Institute met me in February it told me that it knew of some cases where repayment of tax had been considerably delayed because of the difficulty in getting certificates.

I think that my hon. and learned Friend has a good point, and in a spirit of good will to the hon. Member for Cardiff, South-East (Mr. Callaghan) I would advise the Committee to accept this new Clause.

Mr. Graham Page

I shall delay the Committee for only a moment, and certainly not politically. If my hon. Friend is to make this form obligatory will he please look at the form itself? R.185 is the most inconvenient form that any Government Department has ever produced. The particulars are on two sides and when one has it in one's file it is a slip of paper which will not fit in anyhow. It has three or four columns on the back which a re the wrong way round. Will he look at this form and put the particulars all on one side and make it a decent shape so that it will go into an ordinary file?

Mr. Callaghan

From my personal knowledge it has not been altered for over thirty years.

Mr. Barber

Of course, we will look at it.

Question put and agreed to.

Clause read a Second time and added to the Bill.