asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if there is any discretionary facility which would enable the Inland Revenue to allocate the total gross interest which has accumulated over a four-year period to each of the four years thereby more evenly assessing the income surcharge on a yearly basis.

Interest is regarded for all income tax purposes as income of the year in which it is paid or made available. There is no provision for relating it back to the years in which it accumulated for the purpose of the investment income surcharge.