§ Mr. LEWIS HASLAMasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his attention has been called to the position in which solicitors, executors, and trustees find themselves placed owing to the uncertain period of delay in assessing the amount of Increment Duty payable (if any) on the death of a testator, and, particularly, with regard to the fact that they are prevented from winding up their trust estates lest, subsequent to such winding-up, a claim for Increment Duty should be made and they should have no available funds; will he state whether there is any period to the limit during which executors and trustees are liable in such cases for the payment of such Increment Duty; and, if there is no such limit, whether he will consider the question of fixing a limit?
§ Mr. LLOYD GEORGEThe delay in the cases to which my hon. Friend refers is generally due to the period which must necessarily elapse before the original value on which the Increment Value Duty depends becomes finally settled, and this period may be considerably and unavoidably extended where the provisional valuation is not considered satisfactory in the first instance. I am not prepared to introduce legislation to deal specially with these delays, which will tend to disappear when the original valuation is completed.