§ 8. Mr. Boyd-Carpenterasked the Minister of Land and Natural Resources whether he will reimburse owners of owner-occupied houses in respect of any levy paid by them in respect of development value under his proposals.
§ Mr. WilleyNo, Sir. The Bill does not provide for the reimbursement of levy for particular categories of persons liable to pay. The exemptions from levy which I consider justified are already contained in the Bill.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that his right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has exempted owner-occupied houses from Capital Gains Tax? Does not the same desirability of encouraging home ownership point to his following his right hon. Friend's example?
Mr. WileyThere are dissimilarities between the Capital Gains Tax and the betterment levy and this is only one of the differences between them. The former is a tax and the levy is not.
§ 9. Mr. Boyd-Carpenterasked the Minister of Land and Natural Resources what is the gross annual yield which he expects to obtain from the levy to be imposed by him on the sale of owner-occupied houses in respect of their development value.
§ Mr. WilleyIt is not possible to estimate this. In the great majority of cases no liability for levy will arise on the sale of owner-occupied houses because no development value will be realised.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterIn the light of that Answer, is not the right hon. Gentleman being somewhat unreasonable when, at very little cost to himself, he could give the same assistance to home ownership as his right hon. Friend the Chanceller has given? If the Government are serious about encouraging home ownership, why does not the right hon. Gentleman face the limited expense involved?
Mr. WileyWhat I am doing does not affect home ownership. I am concerned with the price of land for development.