§ 34. Mr. A. Lewisasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that, although his 10 per cent. surcharge on Purchase Tax imposed last July increased prices of many articles by fractions of a 1d., many firms increased the price of such articles to the consumer by 1d., 2d., 3d., or more per item, some details of which have been sent to him; and, in view of the fact that this is contrary to the Government's policy of keeping prices down, whether he will order an investigation into all items carrying Purchase Tax to see to what extent the 10 per cent. surcharge was exceeded by 23W manufacturers with a view to introducing legislation to require these extra charges to be remitted in toto to the Treasury.
§ Sir E. BoyleNo. In general, traders treated the surcharge like any other addition to their costs and I have seen no evidence that the situation was exploited in the way suggested by the hon. Member.