§ Mr. GROVESasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his attention has been called to the fact that the very large numbers of clerks and shop assistants who incur heavy expenses in fares, meals, and upkeep of status receive no relief in the Income Tax payable by them for the expenses referred to; and whether he would therefore consider the revision of abatements on such earned incomes up to £360 per annum to effect an allowance commensurate with those expenses?
§ Mr. BALDWIN:The system of graduation of the Income Tax now in force is that which was embodied in the Finance Act, 1920, on recommendations made by the Royal Commission on the Income Tax, after a most exhaustive investigation, designed to discover the fairest possible distribution of the burden of taxation. At the same time the Royal Commission expressed the opinion that a general allowance for travelling expenses would result in a very great inequity, and recommended that no such allowance he made. In these circumstances my right hon. Friend does not think that there is any ground for the revision suggested by the hon. Member.
§ Mr. RAWLINSONasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his attention has been called to the cases of Regular Army officers who were retained on the active list during the great War on service abroad beyond the date on which they became liable to be retired, who received in 1921 by way of compensation for such retention on the active list, lump sums from which Income Tax was first deducted and from which, in some cases, Super-tax was charged on the 68W ground that the lump sums were retired pay though drawn for time on the active list; and whether, having regard to the fact that these lump sums were given specially to enable officers to restart in civil life and really represented capital and not income, he will see his way to refunding the amounts so deducted in taxes, thus making the treatment of these officers more similar to that of the many British and Indian Army officers retired recently from the active lists before the usual ages or periods of service from whose lump sums such taxes have not been deducted?
§ Captain KING:My right hon. Friend has not been able to trace the matter to which the question refers, but if particulars of any specific case are furnished to him he will gladly have it investigated and communicate the result to the right hon. Member.