Mr Anthony Barber: ...(S.I. 1961, No. 2500), dated 29th December, 1961, a copy of which was laid before this House on 4th January, be approved. The effect of this Order is, as I think the House will appreciate, to add fireworks to the list of goods chargeable with Purchase Tax at the standard rate of tax, that is to say 25 per cent. of the wholesale value, and to include fireworks in the group which comprises...
Mr Anthony Barber: ...in the general interest were I to go into details on that particular matter. I would only say to my hon. Friend, in answer to his very reasonable question, that the reason why particular types of fireworks, such as signal rockets and Very lights, are excluded from this Purchase Tax Order is a question of construction. The point is, if I can put it very briefly, that the word "fireworks"...
Mr Anthony Barber: ...quarterly in arrear, the Order will have no effect on the yield of taxation in the current year. I know that some hon. Members on seeing the Order for the first time were surprised to learn that fireworks were not subject to taxation already. It seems a little anomalous that this should have been the case when toys, games and all other kinds of requisites for amusement were already within...
Mr Anthony Barber: ...speak first and develop points of various kinds, but if hon. Members prefer me to deal with them now, I will certainly do so. As I understand it, the two principal points which were raised by the fireworks industry and which we have considered very carefully concerned the getup of the goods, involving containers and labels which were already printed with retail prices. Many of those...
Mr Anthony Barber: ...had an increase of tax equivalent to one-tenth of a penny. in such cases it is passed on in various ways. I recognise that these are practical difficulties, but they are by no means unique to the firework industry and they have been present over the whole range of Purchase Tax. It is hardly for me to advise a particular industry or a particular company how it should set about things, but...
Mr Anthony Barber: ...has concerned one or two hon. Members because they have written to me about it. This concerns the date of payment of the Purchase Tax. As I understand it, manufacturers send out almost all their fireworks between the end of June and the end of October of each year. Tax is payable quarterly within one month of the end of the quarter, so that on goods delivered to unregistered customers in...
Mr Anthony Barber: I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Colne Valley (Mr. Glenvil Hall) for having said that there is nothing objectionable in principle in the imposition of Purchase Tax on fireworks. After listening to speeches from both sides of the House, I think it fair to say that hon. Members have been concerned with the problems of financing, administration and timing and so on. When...
Mr Anthony Barber: If there is any blame to be attached to anyone for delaying the imposition of Purchase Tax on fireworks, I think that it can fairly be shared between us all. Having reached the conclusion that tax should be imposed I think it was right that we should take action. On the question of prices, I dealt with this at some length in my opening remarks and, while some hon. Members have mentioned the...
Mr Anthony Barber: ...of occasions. The burden of financing Purchase Tax has also been mentioned by several hon. Members, particularly my hon. Friend the Member for Southport (Mr. Percival). It may well be that the fireworks manufacturers will have to modify the arrangements hitherto prevailing whereby generous credit is given. This is something which had to be faced by other manufacturers in the past and the...
Mr Anthony Barber: I am trying to point out that other products are subject to seasonal factors as well as fireworks. In other words, there is nothing new in this. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Kidderminster for making the fundamental point that there is nothing unique about the difficulties of this industry. Signal rockets and Very lights may be distinguished because they are differently...
Mr Anthony Barber: I can only tell my hon. Friend that this applies to other articles and the problem has been solved in other trades. I am sure that the fireworks industry will do the same.