Oral Answers to Questions — British Army. – in the House of Commons at on 12 December 1939.
Mr Charles Ammon
, Camberwell North
asked the Chancellor of the exchequer what is the estimated loss to the revenue since poundage charges on postal orders were suspended; and whether, seeing that the chief benefit through such suspension accrues to those engaged in gambling, he will restore the former practice?
Mr John Simon
, Spen Valley
I hope to announce a decision at an early date. In reply to the first part of the question, no real estimate can be given; on the hypothesis that the use of postal orders for remittance purposes, apart from use in connection with the pools, had continued on the same scale as before the war, the loss of revenue to date due to the absence of poundage might have been roughly £450,000, of which, however, only a small proportion would be attributable to orders used in connection with pools since they recommenced on a reduced scale last month.
The chancellor of the exchequer is the government's chief financial minister and as such is responsible for raising government revenue through taxation or borrowing and for controlling overall government spending.
The chancellor's plans for the economy are delivered to the House of Commons every year in the Budget speech.
The chancellor is the most senior figure at the Treasury, even though the prime minister holds an additional title of 'First Lord of the Treasury'. He normally resides at Number 11 Downing Street.
