DEFENCE PROFIT TAX

Northern Advocate, 22 June 1937, Page 5

DEFENCE PROFIT TAX

Adopted by House of Commons lUnited Press Association. — By Electric Telegraph. — Copyright. 3 (Received 1.30'p.m.) / • LONDON, June 21. - An explanation of the operation of. the hew. defence profits tax, yielding £25,000,000 in; a full year, was given by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir John Simon,’ when moving its adoption in the House of Commons. He said it would be charged on the profit of trades and businesses carried out in the United Kingdom, also those carried on outside. Sir Alan Andejrson (Conservative— London) objected to its application to companies trading abroad, with shareholders throughout the world, simply because they had their headquarters in London, It was important, he said, to epcourage business men operating abroad to locate their headquarters in Britain.

Mr R. Boothby (Conservative—Aberdeen) raised the point whether the Dominions would accept the tax as part of production costs, or would the sum paid in tax be the subject o.t full Dominion income tax. If so, these companies would be put to serious disadvantage in relation to their competitors who had no offices in London, or did not operate overseas. The resolution was passed by 231 votes to 98.