§ Sir T. BRAMSDONasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether the Government is aware of the fact that, although Schedule E of the Income Tax Acts is limited to persons holding a public office or employment of profit (whose salaries are publicly known), it has recently become the practice of His Majesty's inspectors of taxes to assess under Schedule E all employés, whether public or not and who were hitherto assessed under Schedule D, affecting a large section of the population; that under Schedule D these persons had the option of making their returns to and of being assessed by the district commissioners or by the special commissioners, and that under Schedule E they are deprived of this option and thus lose the benefit of the secrecy afforded by an appeal to the special commissioners; that the declaration of secrecy required of tax officials under Section 89 of the Income Tax Act, 1918, applies exclusively to returns under Schedule D and not Schedule E; and whether the Government, in view of the dissatisfaction which this change in the method of assessment has created and of the personal nature of the information which has now to be supplied on tax returns, will make provision in the Finance Bill granting all persons the privilege of the alternative methods of assessment and providing for all returns being treated as confidential?
Mr. GRAHAMThe hon. Member appears to have overlooked Section 18 of the Finance Act, 1922, which transferred to Schedule E, subject to some trifling exceptions, all employments not previously within the scope of that Schedule. Although the employés so transferred have not the option of assessment by the Special Commissioners—an option which, I may observe, was seldom exercised in such cases—I can assure the hon. Member that returns under Schedule E, equally with returns under Schedule D, are treated as strictly confidential, and I would further point out that under Section 191848W of the Finance Act, 1922, any person charged under Schedule E has the right of appealing to the Special Commissioners against his assessment, if he so desires.
§ Mr. T. JOHNSTONasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if he can state, for the financial year 1923–24, how many of the 4,700,000 persons estimated to be above the Income Tax exemption limit had incomes exceeding £160 a year.
Mr. GRAHAMI regret that, following the change in the system of graduation of the Income Tax, introduced by the Finance Act, 1920, there is no statistical information available for classifying the total number of taxpayers according to the amount of their total incomes.