§ Mr. ACLAND ALLENasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that surveyors of taxes are pressing individual rubber companies to send in without delay their returns with regard to excess profits under the Finance Act (No. 2), 1914; and whether, in view of the fact that the Rubber Growers' Association, acting on behalf of 301 companies with an issued capital of £35,000,000, have sent in an application for an increase of the statutory percentage under Section 42 of the Act, he will take steps to arrange that the application may be heard by the Board of Referees with the least possible delay?
§ Mr. McKENNAI can assure my hon. Friend that there will be no avoidable delay in this matter. The Commissioners of Inland Revenue, who anticipate the early receipt of a further application in regard to the rubber industry, are ready,2730W pending the decision of the Board of Referees, to arrange for suitable provisional payments of duty on account.
§ Mr. SCANLANasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether there is any and, if so, what authority conferred by Treasury Regulations, or otherwise, on surveyors of taxes or the Commissioners of the Treasury, whereby in assessing limited companies to Income and Profit Tax they can disallow the fees incurred and payable to directors from the expenses deducted from gross earnings for the purpose of arriving at the amount on which tax is payable; and whether he is aware of the fact that certain surveyors are disallowing such directors' fees, even in cases where the amounts were fixed by resolutions of companies passed before the Profit Tax was proposed or contemplated?
§ Mr. McKENNAIf, as I understand, the hon. Member's question relates to Excess Profits Duty, I would refer him to the provisions of Rule 5 of Part I. of the Fourth Schedule to the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1915. I have no reason to suppose that that Rule is being otherwise than properly administered.
§ Mr. SCANLANasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Treasury have made any and what Regulations as to special circumstances under which, by virtue of Sub-section (3) of Section 40 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1915, it is enacted that the provisions of the Fourth Schedule of that Act might in certain cases be modified; whether the benefit of that provision is being applied by the Treasury to private companies having only a few subscribers who themselves devote all their time to the work of the concern, which companies were incorporated in 1913 and completed their first year on or after the 31st March, 1914; whether he is aware that such concerns, having devoted their first year to organising and doing preparatory work, are handicapped and unfairly treated relatively to older businesses by the application to them of Part II., paragraph 4, of the Fourth Schedule to the said Act, and that this hardship is intensified in the case of companies or concerns with only a small or nominal capital; and whether the Treasury will now take into consideration the circumstances of such companies and afford them some relief from the incidence of the Profits Tax?
2731W
§ Mr. McKENNAWhile the Sub-section referred to authorises the making of Regulations to meet any unforeseen circumstances analogous to those which the Subsection names, the necessity to make such Regulations has not yet arisen. I could not regard the case of new companies, which so far from being unforeseen is specifically dealt with in the Schedule, as warranting the issue of a Regulation.