Fifth Schedule. — (Purchase Tax (Amendments of Schedule of Chargeable Goods).)

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 19 June 1951.

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Photo of Sir Martin Lindsay Sir Martin Lindsay , Solihull 12:00, 19 June 1951

I beg to move, in page 47, line 16, after "(b,) insert: after the word 'brushes' there shall be inserted the words 'other than toothbrushes. The purpose of this Amendment is to remove toot brushes from the incidence of Purchase Tax. The whole structure of Purchase Tax, it is agreed I think, is simply bristling with anomalies, and there is no greater, or more ridiculous anomaly than this. This essential item, which should be in every bedroom or bathroom in the land, is now subject to 33⅓ Purchase Tax. The Chancellor has already recognised that this article, with others, partly in the medical and partly in the toilet field, which are in constant use, should not be subject to Purchase Tax. Therefore, this Finance Bill provides for hot water bottles, urinals, commodes, toilet paper, air pillows, air cushions, waterbeds, and so on to be relieved of Purchase Tax.

2.30 a.m.

I suggest an essential difference between these items and a toothbrush because obviously one does not make frequent use of them unless one is so far gone that one does not care whether one pays Purchase Tax or not. A toothbrush is infinitely more essential and the case for relieving it from Purchase Tax is infinitely stronger. I always thought that it was the duty of parents to bring up their children to clean their teeth in the mornings. Apparently we have reached the stage now where a parent says to his children, "Do not brush your teeth too hard and do not use toothpaste because it costs too much money."

I suggest that today, and in future, because the populace are having to bear half the cost of their dentures, it is more important than ever that they should not feel inhibited against purchasing new toothbrushes. I understand that the annual consumption of toothbrushes is in the neighbourhood of 15 million and I suggest that even if one allowed for the fact that part of the populace's teeth have not grown and others have fallen out, it still means that the average person in England buys one new toothbrush every two years. This is a very frightening figure and one which should cause us all alarm. I have many extremely good jokes which I have been preparing for the last three weeks, but it is much too late in the morning to make them, and therefore I have moved the Amendment briefly.