§ Mr. Joel Barnettasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the reason for the large decrease in the number of cases of fraud and evasion of income tax investigated from 13,734 in 1960 to 9,752 in 1961; and what instructions were given to Her Majesty's inspectors of taxes which caused the number of cases to rise in the following years.
§ Mr. MacDermotI would refer my hon. Friend to the first footnote to Table 9 of the 107th Report of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue (Cmnd. 2572). These variations in the number of cases settled (for financial years ending on 31st March) are mainly due to the fact that the Finance Act, 1960, introduced new provisions for penalties and the recovery of tax underpaid. The settlement of cases affected was largely at a standstill while the Finance Bill was before Parliament.