The Sun.
London, England, 1842-04-26 00:00:00

INCOME TAX BILL

On the order of the day for the House resolving itself into
Committee on the Income Tax Bill being read,
Mr. WALLACE rose and said that his object was to endea-
vour to suggest to the House some plan by which the adoption
of the proposal of an income tax might be obviated. It was
the general opinion out of doors that the Right Hon. Baronet,
if he had been aware of the present plentiful state of the money
market, would never have submitted this proposition to the
House. Now that the Corn-law question had been disposed
of, and that the tariff had not yet been proposed, he thought
the time had come for him to propose some measure by which
the necessity for an Income-tax might be obviated. rhe Bill
had only recently been placed in their bands. He had
thought it his duty to go through the Bill with all the atten-
tion in his power, and he could not have believed it possible
that. any enactment containing clauses so repugnant to
the feelings of the inhabitants of Great Britain could
have been proposed by any set of men whatever.
It had been said thatthese enactments were founded on the Acts
of 1798 and of 1806, but he was also aware that at that pe-
ri d there had not been such a rigid construction placed upon
the enactment of laws of this description. The Assessed-tax
laws had been administered in a more mild manner than they
had been since. Since that period the Assessed-tax acts had
in England and Scotland been year after year enforced in a
more rigid manner, and it was only last year the Right Hon.
the Chancellor of the Exchequer had intimated to the House
that he expected to raise a considerable additional sum under
the head of Assessed taxes, not only by the proposition of an in-
crease in the taxes themselves, but by a more stringent enforce-
ment of the enactments of the existing laws. That was stated
by him not for the purpose of extending them in any new way,
but to make them more stringent, and they were made sn
stringent that they were not much less odious than the Bill
which he now held in his hand. There was a strong opinion
prevailing out of doors that at this stage they were entitled
to receive communications from the Right Hon. Bart. and
the Government as to their intentions with respect to the tariff,
and there was an opinion that his own supporteis were so op-
posed to the Bill that it could not be in his power to support it.
Therefore it became apparent that a means of stopping the
Income-tax should be brought before the country. Various
means had been suggested, arid he would not say what might
be done in the way of reducing the expenditure of the country.
He thought that, by means of temporary advances, by loans on
Exchequer bills, or some other way, they could obtain a year to
look about them, and that, if it was necessary, the Right Hon.
Baronet should take a higher amount than 3 percent. and give
them freedom from more taxes. If it were necessary
it would be the bounden duty of the Right Hon. Baronet to
take ten or twelve per cent. by an Income-tax, that he might be
the better able to relieve them from other taxes, and take
another step in the right direction, as he was now ding. The
Right Hon. Baronet might take a year to consider that. Such
a preposition would be listened to with satisfaction by the
country, if it believed that a larger amount of taxation would
be removed, as the timber duties and others, which
had been mentioned in the tariff. Whether that was
a right application of the money to be raised by the Income-
tax was a question, but his own conviction was, that an issue
of Exchequer bills to the amount of 4,000,0001., the sum
proposed to be raised by an Income-tax, would not be refused
by the country, and he was satisfied, from what he endeavoured
to ascertain in the City, that such was the plenty of money.
that even this very day it could be procured at two per cent.
If that were true, and it was the opinion of well-informed men
that the sum required could be procured for between two and
three per cent. interest, he considered, and his opinion was con-
firmed by the judgment of others well acquainted with the sub-
ject, that it would be a vast deal better to get the money by
Exchequer bills, rather than to inflict on the country the
machinery of the present Bill. He could not find a word to
apply to the nature of the Bill, it was in its provisions so
horrid. Crimes of the deepest dye were guarded in the most
careful manner in the Bill. Was it, he would ask,
fair, at the end of four yews of continual distress, to ask
the tradesmen of the country to disclose their affairs?
He believed that the tariff was a proceeding in the right di-
rection, but it was equally clear that there were other means
of raising the money necessary to meet the deficiency in the
revenue without resorting to Exchequer bills, or direct taxa-
tion. There had been a strong expression of ft eling that the
course he had proposed before would be his wisest course that
night. He had given notice that he would bring the subject of
the tariff before the House. but in consequence of an accident,
that notice was not on the table of the House He would not
to-night hinger the resolution which was on the paper of that
evening, because he would be strongly pressed by several par-
ties not to do so. He should, however, take another opportu-
nity of bringing the subject forward.
Sir R. PEEL said, that after the long discussion that bad
taken place upon this subject, he was surprised and almost
alarmed at seeing the notice placed in the paper by the Hon.
Member opposite, which was calculated to renew the debate
that had taken place upon the principle of the Bill. He was
in bores that they would have been enabled to go into Com-
mittee ; yet, still, at the same time, the assurance given by the
Hon. Member that' he would not resort to any improper
course to delay the proceeding on the Bill, was some
consolation to him. The Honourable Member proposed
that, instead of resorting to any vigorous measures, the
Government should have recourses° a loan. Now, consider-
ing the commercial state of the country, what, he asked.
would have been its opinion, and that of the House, if
after the period given him by the House to consider what
measures he should propose, he had brought forward
such a proposition as that suggested by the Hon.. Dletuber,