§ Mr. Perkinsasked the Secretary of State for Air whether he is aware that the Air Ministry assessor of Income Tax failed to deduct from a pilot officer, No. 78658, Income Tax in respect of his pay for the year 1940–41, and is now deducting £16 a month for 12 months, leaving this officer less than £6 a month; what is the maximum amount that can be deducted from a junior officer dependent on his pay in respect of Income Tax arrears; and whether he will give an assurance that, in 214W future, no junior officer will be allowed to accumulate a debt of this magnitude?
§ Sir A. SinclairThe accumulation of arrears of Income Tax necessitating substantial deduction from pay in the case referred to by my hon. Friend arose primarily from the fact that it was not until some time after this officer joined the Royal Air Force that my Department became aware that he possessed a private income in respect of which he had claimed all the allowances and reliefs to which he was entitled other than those for earned income and uniform, and that in consequence his Service pay, less relief in respect of earned income and uniform allowance, should have been taxed at the full rate. There was also some delay in effecting recovery for which my Department was not responsible. A debt of similar magnitude in respect of Income Tax could not accumulate in the case of a junior officer entirely dependent on his pay, and in any event the rule is applied that for an officer with no private means deductions from pay in respect of overpayment or other liabilities may not exceed in the aggregate a sum representing 25 per cent. of the pay currently due.