§ Mr. George Cunninghamasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the average delay between the receipt by the taxpayer of income taxable under Schedule D and the payment of tax on it.
§ Mr. Denzil DaviesI assume that my hon. Friend has in mind the payment of tax on business profits assessed under Case I and II of Schedule D. Half the tax for a year of assessment, which runs from 6th April to 5th April, is due on 1st January in that year. The other half is due the following 1st July. Since the profits of a business's year of account normally form the basis for the tax charged for the subsequent year of assessment, tax is due on average about 14 months after the end of that year of account.