The Excess Profits Duty was warmly criticized in the House
on Wednesday, but Mr. Terrell's proposal to abolish it was negatived without a division, and Sir F. Banbury's amendment to leave the tax at 40 per cent. instead of raising it to 80 per cent, was defeated by 287 votes to 75. Sir F. Banbury expressed the general feeling when he said that expenditure ought to be reduced and that, "the more money the Government got, the more they would spend." Mr. Chamberlain in the course of an admir- able speech declared that he would do all he could to promote economy ; but the Treasury seems to have lost its old power of controlling the Civil Service. He said with truth that he must find the money, and that no satisfactory alternative to the Excess Profits Tax had been suggested. He promised to do what he could to reduce the burden on new and small businesses.
Previous page
