§ Sir W. Elliottasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will confirm that hotel expenses incurred by business men normally resident in the United Kingdom when attending board meetings of overseas companies of which they are directors will not be treated by the Inland Revenue as a benefit.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonIt depends on where his duties as director are carried out. If the duties are performed wholly abroad, then the reimbursement of hotel expenses incurred when attending board meetings abroad are taxable as part of the emoluments of his office, but he84W interest on overdue taxation expressed as a percentage equivalent of a gross rate of interest payable where such interest is allowable as a deduction in calculating income for tax purposes for a married man with an income all earned of £5,000 per annum, £10,000 per annum, £20,000 per annum, and £50,000 per annum, respectively, whose wife has no income and who has no other claims for tax allowances; and what are the equivalent rates in the countries of the EEC, the United States of America and Japan for a person in similar circumstances.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonInterest on overdue taxation is not allowed in the United Kingdom as a deduction against income for tax purposes. The following table shows the nominal rates of interest payable and the equivalent grossed up figures at the marginal rates of tax appropriate to the specified income levels at current rates of exchange. Interest on overdue tax is deductible in the USA and no grossing up is necessary. In some countries there are both national and local—State or municipal—income taxes, so that there may be small variations from the figures shown.
would be entitled to a deduction of 25 per cent. from those emoluments under Schedule 2 to the Finance Act 1974. If his duties as director are performed mainly in this country, the reimbursement of hotel expenses when attending board meetings overseas would not be taxable.