§ Mr. SNOWDENasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the following information in regard to Mr. N. F. W. Fisher, who is to be appointed a Special Commissioner of Income Tax: when he entered the Civil Service; what class he 178W entered; his age on entry; his commencing salary; when he was appointed private secretary to the chairman of the Board of Inland Revenue, and what special ability he had shown to merit that promotion; what was his position and salary at the time he was selected for a Special Commissioner; why he has been selected for that position; what his salary in that position will be; and is he a graduate of Oxford or Cambridge?
§ Mr. HOBHOUSEThe information desired by the hon. Member is as follows:—Mr. Fisher entered the Civil Service on the 24th October, 1903, as a first division clerk at the age of 24 years, with a commencing salary of £150 per annum. He was appointed private secretary to the Chairman of the Board of Inland Revenue on the 18th June, 1908. The appointment of his private secretary is a personal matter concerning the Chairman, in which my right hon. friend has no voice. At the time of his selection to be a Special Commissioner he was a committee clerk in the Inland Revenue Department at a salary of £625, on the scale of £600—£800; he was selected on merit. The scale of salary of the post is £850: £25: £1,000. Mr. Fisher is a graduate of Oxford.
Mr. ROBERTSONAsked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that certain Commissioners of Income Tax have assessed at the unearned rate incomes which are known to them to be wholly earned, and have made retrospective assessments of this kind against which appeal is in terms of the statute impossible, the assessment being made after the date prescribed for appeals; and whether he will make provision against the continuance of such assessments?
§ Mr. HOBHOUSEIf the hon. Member will furnish me with particulars of a specific case, I will cause inquiry to be made.