ILLUSTRATION OF THE PRINCIPLE OF
AVERAGING UNDER SCHEDULE D
| Profits. | Assessment. | |||
| Year. | Amount. | Year of Assessment. | Amount of Assessment. | Remarks. |
| £ | £ | |||
| 1893 | 1,100 | |||
| 1894 | 900 | |||
| 1895 | 1,200 | |||
| 1896 | 1,300 | 1896 | 1,066 | Average of £1,100, £900 and £1,200. |
| 1897 | 1,400 | 1897 | 1,133 | Average of £900, £1,200 and £1,300. |
| 1898 | 1,400 | 1898 | 1,300 | Average of £1,200, £1,300 and £1,400. |
| 1899 | 1,500 | 1899 | 1,366 | Average of £1,300, £1,400 and £1,500. |
| 1900 | 1,600 | 1900 | 1,433 | Average of £1,400, £1,400 and £1,500. |
| 1901 | 1,200 | 1901 | 1,500 | Average of £1,400, £1,500 and £1,600. |
| 1902 | 1,200 | 1902 | 1,433 | Average of £1,500, £1,600 and £1,200. |
| 1903 | 1,500 | 1903 | 1,333 | Average of £1,600, £1,200 and £1,200. |
| 1904 | 1,600 | 1904 | 1,300 | Average of £1,200, £1,200 and £1,500. |
| 1905 | 1,433 | Average of £1,200, £1,500 and £1,600. | ||
We next come to Schedule E, which covers the salaries of all Government officials, and of the employees of Limited Liability Companies, County Councils, etc. For obvious reasons this branch of the tax is very easily assessed.
It is necessary also to remind the reader that a second form of income-tax is at present levied. I refer to the Inhabited House Duty, which is payable by all householders (in Great Britain only—not in Ireland) who live in houses of an annual value of £20 and upwards. The rates are graduated as follows:—
| Above £20. Rate in the £. | Above £40. Rate in the £. | Above £60. Rate in the £. | |
| Private dwelling-houses | 3d. | 6d. | 9d. |
| Business premises used residentially | 2d. | 4d. | 6d. |
Houses used solely for purposes of trade, and in which no occupier resides, are not subject to the tax.
In the last financial year of which we have record (1907-8) the duty yielded £1,900,000.
The present Inhabited House Duty dates from 1851 when it was levied, to replace the stupid window-duty, by Sir Charles Wood. It can only be described as a clumsy income tax, and it bears very harshly upon poor Londoners, compelled by their circumstances to pay heavy rents to be near their work. To the heavy rent the State adds a second most unjust Income Tax.