Oral Answers to Questions — National Finance – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 18 February 1954.
Mr Ralph Morley
, Southampton, Itchen
12:00,
18 February 1954
asked the Chancellor of the exchequer if he will consider imposing a capital levy in order to raise funds to pay off the outstanding post-war credits.
Mr Ralph Morley
, Southampton, Itchen
Is the Financial Secretary aware that the suggestions made in the Question were first put forward by a very distinguished economist, the late Lord Keynes, and if this suggestion were put into operation his right hon. Friend would earn great popularity by paying out post-war credits without any fear of inflation?
Mr John Boyd-Carpenter
, Kingston upon Thames
I appreciate fully the very understandable and legitimate public desire to see the payment of post-war credits accelerated, but I can think of no more disastrous method of accelerating them than by indulging in the old-fashioned and, I thought, discredited expedient of a capital levy.
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.
