Mr. Chamberlain informed the House of Commons on Monday that
the Government had rejected the proposal to make a capital levy on " war wealth." On Tuesday, when the Labour Party chal- lenged the decision, the Chancellor said that he had come to the same conclusion as the Select Committee, namely, that the more thoroughly the proposal was examined, the less were its fiscal advantages manifest. It was impossible to draw a line between those who made money out of the war and those who increased their wealth during the war, ,but not out of the war. The levy would not reduce the floating debt. The scheme described by the Committee as practicable might yield £500,000,000, but the levy would be paid mainly in stock at the price of issue, and would thus reduce the. Funded Debt but not the Floating Debt. Further, the levy would yield no more than £350,000;000 in the next two years, and the balance within• ten years. The Excess Profits Duty would produce nearly twice as much in the same period, and would be paid by the class upon which the " war wealth " levy would have been made.
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