§ Lord Wharncliffemoved the third reading of the Assessed Taxes Bill,
§ Lord Hathertonsaid, he had to offer a 274 suggestion which was somewhat germane to this bill. By the 55th George 3rd. a probate duty was payable on all personal property from 20l. to 1,000,000l. Now their Lordships were aware that there were several cases of personal property to which the duty attached, and which were infinitely beyond a million. He had frequently endeavoured to ascertain from old Members of Parliament what induced the Government and the Legislature to fix such a limit, but he could never hear any satisfactory reason for adhering to this amount. An attempt had been made by the late Government to remove the evil, but it had not been successful.
§ Lord Monteaglecould confirm all that had been said by his noble Friend. There was also in the present state of the law the additional anomaly that where the property happened to be situate in York and Canterbury probate duty was paid for that which existed in each. There arose a case, while he was Chancellor of the Exchequer—a case where a man left a property considerably exceeding a million, but as it happened to be in the two provinces, the present law made the maximum duty payable in each.
§ Lord Wharncliffewould make known these suggestions to his right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer who would not be displeased at finding a new expedient for gaining more money. Common sense seemed to dictate that whatever was the amount of personal property it should pay a proportioned duty. He believed the present anomaly arose from the circumstance, that when the law was made, no one anticipated there could be a larger personal estate than a 1,000,000l.
§ Bill read a third time.
§ Their Lordships adjourned.