§ Sir Ian Orr-Ewingasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the fact that £2.1 million was refunded to Bristol Siddeley as a result of the tax they had already paid on their excess profits of £3.96 million and that the Minister of Aviation disclosed to the House of Commons on 17th June, 1965 the tax paid in the Ferranti case, he will end the practice of refusing to disclose such matters.
§ Mr. MacDermotAs a matter of arithmetic tax on profits of £3.96 million at the rates in force for the relevant periods would approximate to the figure of £2.1 million quoted by the hon. Member, but in any particular case there may be factors which make such a method of computation inappropriate and I cannot comment further on the position in the Bristol Siddeley case. Nor do I think that the practice of refusing to answer Questions about the liabilities of particular taxpayers ought to be changed.