§ Mr. GILBERTasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport what annual tax the motor omnibus in London now pays; whether the tax was fixed on the smaller omnibus which then had a passenger seating capacity of 34; whether the tax has been increased on the larger sized omnibuses which have now been put on the London roads and streets, and which are of a much larger passenger carrying capacity than the older omnibuses; whether, in view of the greater weight of the new omnibus and its extra wear of the roads, his Department has considered whether the tax should be increased; and can he make any statement on the subject?
§ Colonel ASHLEYThe maximum annual duty fixed in the Second Schedule to the Finance Act, 1920, for a hackney carriage seating more than 32 persons, exclusive of the driver, is £84. At the date of the Committee's report, on which the present scale of duties was based, the normal London omnibus had a seating capacity of 34, and the duty has not since been increased in respect of omnibuses with a greater seating capacity either in London or elsewhere. The whole question of alternative methods of motor taxation is now being considered by the Departmental Committee. Pending the receipt of the Committee's report, I am not in a position to make any statement.