Mr. G. WHITEasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the approximate amount of British Government securities at present held by owners domiciled abroad?
§ Mr. BALDWINThe amount of British Government securities issued in foreign markets now outstanding is, at par of exchange, £47,931,000. It is estimated that in 1922–23 some £175,000,000 of securities on which Income Tax is deductible at source was in the beneficial ownership of persons not ordinarily resident in Great Britain and Ireland. But the interest on a far larger volume of securities is paid without deduction of tax and is exempt from tax if in the beneficial ownership of persons not ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, and I am unable to say how much of this is held abroad.