6 JULY 1907, Page 10

Wednesday's discussion of the Finance Bill was only im- portant

in that the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that he has resolved to allow pensions to be treated as earned incomes, and therefore when the total income was 22,000 a year or below, it should be taxed at only three-fourths of the rate levied on other incomes. He had come to the conclusion that, broadly speaking, a pension might be regarded as part of the stipulated remuneration for services. From the point of view of the revenue, the matter was of slight importance. On the whole, Mr. Asquith's decision was, we think, a wise one, for the vast majority of pensions, being in the nature of deferred pay, are, in truth, earned incomes.