§ Mr. Lewisasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is aware that, for the six months ended June, 1953, the Treasury lost £208,419 in pool betting duty from totalisators operated upon greyhound racecourses, as compared with a similar period in 1952;and whether, as the law of diminishing returns is operating in connection with this tax, he will consider in his forthcoming Budget removing the tax, and placing greyhound racing on the same basis as horse racing for the purpose of betting duty.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterI am aware of the decline in pool betting duty receipts to which the hon. Member refers. Without accepting the inference he draws from this fact, my right hon. Friend will bear it in mind in his pre-Budget review of the duty.