Oral Answers to Questions — National Finance – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 10 Tachwedd 1964.
Mr James Dempsey
, Coatbridge and Airdrie
12:00,
10 Tachwedd 1964
asked the Chancellor of the exchequer if he will remove the Purchase Tax on school pupils' footwear, in view of the apparent anomalies it creates; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Jack Diamond
, Gloucester
The greater part of the footwear worn by school pupils is already exempt as young children's clothing. I am afraid that this exemption is bound to be accompanied by anomalies however one attempts to define "a young child". There is little doubt that older persons already benefit in terms of tax relief from the existing favourable definition.
Mr James Dempsey
, Coatbridge and Airdrie
Is the Minister aware that fixing an arbitrary size of school footwear and imposing Purchase Tax on sizes in excess leads to anomalies whereby, for example, well-built young school pupils are being taxed on footwear while more petite older girls are fully exempted? Is this not an anomaly to which the Minister should apply his mind to removing at the earliest moment?
Mr Jack Diamond
, Gloucester
Certainly anomalies do result, as I have indicated. The trouble is that there is no better definition available.
The chancellor of the exchequer is the government's chief financial minister and as such is responsible for raising government revenue through taxation or borrowing and for controlling overall government spending.
The chancellor's plans for the economy are delivered to the House of Commons every year in the Budget speech.
The chancellor is the most senior figure at the Treasury, even though the prime minister holds an additional title of 'First Lord of the Treasury'. He normally resides at Number 11 Downing Street.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
