REPORT OF THE COUNCIL, 1928-29. xix 



At this meeting, the desire was expressed to nominate Mr. Buckston 

 Browne as Hon. Curator of Down House, and this proposal was received 

 with acclamation. 



IX. Income Tax. — The Council reported last year that the cases taken 

 as test cases upon the liability of scientific Societies to taxation of income 

 had been decided against the Societies by the Special Commissioners and 

 the High Court ; to these were subsequently added the Court of Appeal, 

 and the question was not carried to the House of Lords. The position is 

 that the two societies concerned, the Geologists' Association and the 

 Midland Counties Institution of Engineers, were adjudged on the facts, as 

 found by the Special Commissioners, not to be ' charities ' exempted from 

 taxation under the Income Tax Act, 1918. 



The Council caused a further meeting of representatives of affected 

 Societies to be summoned, when the following principal considerations 

 emerged : — 



(1) No satisfactory definition of a 'charity' applicable to scientific societies 

 generally has been found. The eases referred to above were brought as test cases : 

 the judgments show that they do not provide a common ' test ' and indicate that no 

 individual case can indeed act as such. 



(2) It has been laid down by the judicature that : — 



(a) If a society exists mainly for the purpose of furthering science and incident- 

 ally its own members benefit, such society is entitled to exemption. 



(b) If a society exists mainly to benefit its members individually (as in the 

 case of conferring professional prestige), while incidentally furthering science, 

 such society is not entitled to exemption. 



(3) Some societies definitely fall on the side of non-liability, some on that of 

 liability : as to a third category, it is arguable on wliich side they should fall. 



(4) Therefore the case of each society must be separately investigated. 



(5) But in the mutual interest of societies, the meeting recommended community 

 of action in order to ensure a pooling of experience, and to that end the officers of the 

 British Association offered : — 



(a) To advise societies (so far as lies in their power) as to procedure, and 

 (6) To file in the office of the Association records of the results of individual 

 societies' appeals and of the grounds of their success or failure, in order that such 

 records may be available for consultation and general guidance. 



It became clear that the above statements (3) and (4) correctly 

 represented the position from the fact that the Association itself, and certain 

 other societies, since the judicial decisions referred to, have been allowed 

 remission of tax as heretofore, on a review of their activities by the Inland 

 Revenue authorities. Others have not, and consideration of individual 

 cases is understood to be in progress. 



The expert assistance of the General Treasurer in this important matter 

 has been deeply appreciated. 



X. Resolutions referred by the General Committee at the Glasgow 

 Meeting to the Council for consideration, and, if desirable, for action, were 

 dealt with as follows : — 



(a) Resolutions from Section E (Geography), relating to the completion 

 of the thirtieth meridian arc in East Africa, the uniform map of Africa 

 (Geographical Section, General Staff, 1 : 2,000,000), and the periodical 

 revision of the Ordnance Survey, were referred, with commentaries, to 

 the appropriate Government Departments (Colonial Office, War Office, 

 Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries). 



In regard to the first, it is understood that Col. H. St. J. 



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