§ Sir P. Hurdasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he can say what approximately would be the yield of a turnover tax of 1d. in the 1s. and 1s. in the £on all retail sales: and whether he has any statistics as to the experience 1077W of similar taxation in France and some of the States of the United States of America?
§ Captain CrookshankMy right hon. Friend regrets that he is unable to furnish an estimate of the yield of a retail turnover tax such as my hon. Friend suggests.
As regards the second part of the question, there is not a separate retail sales tax in France. Turnover taxes are, however, in operation in that country, and I will send my hon. Friend an extract from the French Government publication, the Bulletin de Statistique, containing particulars of the receipts from those taxes. In the case of the United States, my right hon. Friend is not in a position to say what is the yield of the State retail taxes, but I will send my hon. Friend a reference to a recent publication on Retail Sales Taxation which contains estimates of the yield in certain States.