THE EARL OF HARROWBYasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the total cost of all Government rebates per year under all heads, covering salaries and wages, with the number of people employed, housing and accommodation, and the capital outlay thereon, stationery, transport, etc., coupled with the cost of personnel 1268WA involved in the collection of taxes or charges which are ultimately to be repaid in rebates, as compared with the figures for, say, 1910 or the earliest non-rebate years, and what approximate percentage should be added to this cost under these headings to represent the same problem as it consequentially arises for business and private individuals, and whether, in view of the enormous size of such figures, it would not be preferable and cheaper for legislation to exclude such cases from the start from the operation of such clauses.
EARL JELLICOEThe Answer to the first part of the Question could only be provided at the cost of disproportionate time and effort. Arrangements to rebate taxes are usually introduced when it is only possible, or sometimes when it is administratively more convenient, to identify after the tax point rather than before it those persons or goods which are not finally liable for the tax in question.