§ Flight-Lieutenant R. Ethertonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps it is proposed to take to safeguard for the Treasury Purchase Tax received for the Government and not handed over by approximately 5 per cent. of registered persons within four weeks of the prescribed date and at present not only converted by such persons to their own use but likely to become irrecoverable by the Government?
§ Sir K. WoodRegistered traders who do not pay their Purchase Tax by the prescribed date render themselves liable to proceedings for an offence, and they can also be sued for the money or distrained upon as may be necessary. In general these powers have been found to be sufficient, and I am now able to say that the number of registered traders who have not paid in full for the period ended 30th June last has fallen below 1 per cent. of the total. In view of the terms of my hon. Friend's Question I should perhaps point out that under the law a registered trader is accountable for tax on all his sales to unregistered persons, irrespective of whether he has yet collected the money from them, though he is allowed to pay the tax quarterly in arrear with a month's grace at the end of each quarter.