§ Mr. H. CRAIGasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any Stamp Duty or other tax is payable upon the transfer or sale of British ships or upon mortgages effected upon such ships?
§ Mr. McKENNAThe answer is in the negative.
§ Mr. H. CRAIGasked what amount of revenue a 5 per cent, ad valorem Stamp Duty upon the sale, transfer, or mortgage of British ships would be estimated to produce in an average year; and whether such a duty could be collected without any material addition to the tax-collecting machinery of the Inland Revenue?
§ Mr. McKENNAAny estimate must be highly conjectural, but I am advised that on the date available such a tax might yield about £650,000. The answer to the second part of the question is in the affirmative.