§ Sir J. DAVIDSONasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the incidence of direct taxation per head of the population in Great Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, respectively?
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§ Mr. SNOWDENThe Committee of Experts appointed by the Reparation Commission have pointed out that the comparison of statistics of taxation in various countries presents many technical difficulties, and is not in itself useful unless the result is related to per capita wealth or income. Differing financial systems, differing administrative units of expenditure, and even differences of classification as between "direct" and "indirect" taxation complicate the difficulties arising from defective statistics and the disturbance of national economics arising from currency depreciation. In these circumstances, I fear I cannot give the hon. and gallant Member any reliable statistics on the matter.