§ Dr. Summerskillasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether it is the usual practice to demand payment of Death Duties from a husband on a deceased wife's savings without first inquiring whether the money saved was derived from the housekeeping allowance, in which case the savings are the husband's property and not subject to tax;
(2) whether those husbands who have paid Death Duty on a deceased wife's savings which were derived from the housekeeping allowance will, on application, have the tax so paid refunded?
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§ Sir J. AndersonAs the Attorney-General explained to my hon. Friend in reply to her Question on 3rd November last, the ownership of a deceased wife's savings from the housekeeping allowance depends on the facts of the particular case. The Inland Revenue affidavit leading to probate would not usually refer to such savings and there would therefore be no ground for an inquiry such as my hon. Friend has in mind. If it were proved that duty had been paid in error out of the wife's estate on any property belonging to the husband, the Inland Revenue Department would entertain an application for repayment.