§ 2.43 p.m.
§ LORD AIREDALE: My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government, since in Cmnd. 4729, under the heading Delay in Repayments of Tax, they say,"The analogy with the charge of interest (in certain circumstances) on unpaid tax would be to pay interest where repayment was not made within two months after the amount repayable was agreed. But once the amount has been agreed payment normally follows quickly; delay at this stage is rare…" why in these fortunately rare cases they are not prepared to abide by their own analogy and pay interest.]
5THE LORD PRIVY SEAL (LORD JELLICOE)My Lords, the paragraph from which the noble Lord has quoted draws attention to the difficulty of fixing a date from which interest on repayments of tax could run. The Government's stated conclusion is that it is not practicable to devise arrangements capable of being operated by tax offices for applying a financial remedy wherever there is delay in repayment of tax; and in their view it would not be justified to introduce special rules for the very few cases where there is delay in repayment after the amount repayable is agreed.
§ LORD AIREDALEMy Lords, I am obliged for that Answer, but is it not the case that no similar difficulty arises in fixing the date upon which interest becomes payable if it is the other way round and the taxpayer is required to pay interest?
LORD TEYNHAMMy Lords, is the noble Earl who is replying for Her Majesty's Government aware that the Manchester tax area is particularly bad in delays in repayment of tax due to individuals, in spite of repeated requests, and can he take some steps to improve the position?
EARL JELLICOEMy Lords, I think that the question of the noble Lord, Lord Teynhani, goes rather wider. In answer to the supplementary by the noble Lord, Lord Airedale, all I should like to point out is, as is mentioned in the reply to the Select Committee's Report, that there are something like 5 million repayments a year; and it is my understanding that in the last three years only perhaps one such repayment out of, I suppose, 15 million would have been caught by the sort of rule which he has in mind. Perhaps it would be not very sensible to legislate for a 1:15 million chance.