§ Mr. RAWLINSONasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether in the case of income paid over by the Public Trustee to 1267W beneficiaries the Public Trustee deducts a certain amount for his fees; whether the beneficiary ought to be allowed to deduct such fees from the amount returned by him for Income Tax; and whether he will see that such deduction is allowed in future?
Mr. YOUNGThe answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the second and third parts, I assume that my hon. and learned Friend has in mind cases where the beneficiary or beneficiaries are entitled to the whole, or a proportionate part, of the gross income of the trust estate. In such cases, the beneficiary would, under the provisions of the Income Tax Acts, be required to include the full amount of his share of such income in any statement of income for purposes of Income Tax, and would not be entitled to any deduction in respect of the fees which the Public Trustee is empowered to charge on account of the duties performed by him in administering the estate. These fees correspond with the charges made by solicitors or agents in similar circumstances, which, as my hon. and learned Friend is doubtless aware, are not admissible deductions in the computation of income for Income Tax purposes.