asked the Minister for Finance if he will consider the imposition of a tax on newspapers imported by this country from England in view of the fact that imports of newspapers free of duty from England amounted to 19,422,360 copies during 1949 and to 22,983,828 copies during 1950, and that a tax of 1d. per copy would have yielded in revenue £80,926 10s. 0d. in 1949 and £95,765 19s. 0d. in 1950.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Tax on Newspaper Imports.
The customs tariff already provides for duty on newspapers imported from Britain, with certain exceptions. Most of the Sunday newspapers escape duty, however, by reason of their superficial area. As regards the question of imposing a duty on all English Sunday newspapers, I am sure the Deputy will not expect me to anticipate a Budget Statement.