Mr. MALONEasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has received from the wool textile manufacturers of the West Riding proposals of a scheme to create a guarantee fund of not less than £1,000,000 for the purpose of restarting distributive merchants in the industry who have failed during the slump, together with a request that he will allow the guarantors of this fund to set any losses incurred in putting up their money against their trading profits in respect of assessments to Income Tax; and whether, in view of the large profits made in this industry during and after the War, he will give an assurance that any possible loss will be borne by these particular manufacturers and not transferred to the general community?
Mr. YOUNGUndoubtedly the question of allowance of losses against trading profits of a particular taxpayer is one that must be determined by the application of the legal principles of the Income Tax Acts to the circumstances of each particular case, and the amount of profits made in the industry generally is not relevant to the legal problem.