We are glad to see that Mr. Lloyd George was
questioned very closely in the House of Commons on Monday upon the
grant of abatement of income tax on the salaries of members. It will be remembered that a hundred pounds of their income is to be exempted in view of their heavy travelling expenses. Mr. Lloyd George was asked to give the names of the members at whose request the abatement was made, or at least to state the party to which they belonged. This he refused to do, on the ground that it would be invidious, and added that it was on the merits of the case rather than on the number of members who represented it that he decided to make the allowance. It is difficult to understand what the merits of the case are, and it is surely a most unwise precedent to grant to Members of Parliament exemptions from taxation which are not allowed to the private citizen. The ordinary season-ticket holder may not deduct the price of his ticket from his income for the purpose of income-tax assess- ment, and that members should be given this privilege is, in Mr. Bonar Law's words, " at least open to suspicion."
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