§ Mr. Lewisasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether, in his forthcoming Budget, he will consider introducing a system of a 10 per cent. duty on all share transfers, in place of the present 2 per cent., so as to put this form of gambling on the same basis as the present 10 per cent. Pool Betting Duty on greyhound totalisators;
(2) whether, in his forthcoming Budget, he will consider reducing the present 10 per cent. betting duty on greyhound totalisators to 2 per cent., and thus put this form of betting on the same basis as share transfer gambling on the Stock Exchange;
(3) whether he will state for last year, or the most convenient period, how much revenue he has received from the 2 per cent. stamp duty on share transfers; and what this figure would be if it were increased to 10 per cent.
§ Mr. H. MacmillanAn analysis of the yield of stamp duties in 1954–55 is given in Table 116 of the 98th Report of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue. (Cmd. 9667.) I am not prepared to speculate on the effect of a five-fold increase in the rate of duty on share transfers. With regard to the other points raised, the hon. Member will not expect me to anticipate my Budget. I cannot however accept the implication that transactions on the 173W Stock Exchange, which fulfils a public need by providing an indispensable market for stocks and shares, are comparable with racecourse betting.