Orders of the Day — Finance Bill. – in the House of Commons am ar 13 Gorffennaf 1922.
(1) The Special Commissioners may, whether an assessment to Super-tax has been made or not, require any individual who has been required to make a return of his total income for the purposes of Super-tax to furnish to them within such time as they may prescribe, not being less than twenty-eight days, such particulars as to the several sources of his income and the amount arising from each source, and as to the nature and the amount of any deductions churned to be allowed there from, as they consider necessary.
Mr. SAMUEL:
I beg to move, in Sub-section (1), to leave out the words
to the several sources of his income and the amount arising from each source, and as to the nature and the amount of any deductions claimed to be allowed there from, as they consider necessary—
and to insert instead thereof the words,
the General Commissioners are empowered to order in a precept issued by them under Section one hundred and thirty-nine of the Income Tax Act, 1918.
The reason for this Amendment is that the General Commissioners have already power under Section 139 of the Income Tax Act, 1918, to secure most elaborate particulars about these matters, and in fact to obtain all the particulars which are required. My object is to give the Special Commissioners the same power as that which is possessed by the General Commissioners under Section 139 of the Income Tax Act of 1918.
Mr Charles White
, Derbyshire Western
I beg to second the Amendment.
Sir Robert Horne
, Glasgow Hillhead
I am afraid that I cannot accept this Amendment. The right of the General Commissioners to order particulars under Section 139 of the Income Tax Act is in connection with another matter altogether. It is a case in which an appeal is made against the particular assessment, and the General Commissioners have power to ask for certain particlars in relation to that appeal, and it is obvious that the circumstances are quite different. What is required is that the person should give particulars of the other sources of his income and the amount arising from each source. These are items which it is essentially desirable we should obtain for the purposes of Super-tax and the particulars required on the Income Tax Act of 1918 is quite a different matter. While I agree that the provisions made for those particulars are comprehensive, they do not suit the particular circumstances with which who are dealing.
Mr Arthur Samuel
, Farnham
What about trade secrets?
Sir Robert Horne
, Glasgow Hillhead
There would be no more danger in the one case than the other, and for these reasons I cannot accept the Amendment.
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