§ Mr. Sternasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer for how many years the Inland Revenue practice noted in SP1/85, "Income Tax: Treatment of Certain Payments to Relocated Employees", has been in operation; why no publicity was given to the practice at the time it was introduced; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MoorePayments of the kind referred to in the Inland Revenue statement of practice, SP1/85, have never been regarded as taxable. As the Inland Revenue press release, issued on 18 January, makes clear, the practice had not previously appeared in the series of practice notes which were first introduced in 1978. It had, however, been mentioned in a number of commercial publications on tax matters, and there is no reason to believe that it was not known to employers who have provided the kind of payments covered by the practice.
More generally, since 1978 the Inland Revenue has published details of its practice in many areas. Given the great volume of the tax legislation, a judgment has to be made in each case, whether it is of sufficient importance and general interest to justify a published statement. The decision to publish SP1/85 was taken in the light of some earlier published comment, which seemed likely to create uncertainty about the correct position.