WOMEN TO BE TAX INSPECTORS.

WHAT WILL BUSINESSES MAKE OF INNOVATION?

By OUR CIVIL SERVICE CORRESPONDENT. We are going to have women inspectors of income-tax. That, perhaps, is the most striking feature of the new regulations for recruitment of the Income-tax Department just prepared by the Civil Service Commissioners. The first examination under these regulations will be held next July, and it is interesting to note that this is the first open competition in the history of the Civil Service at which men and women have sat together on absolutely equal terms. We may learn something from comparing the results, though the women may protest that the test is not a fair one, inasmuch as the examination is somewhat technical as well as a literary character, and therefore more favourable to men. We wonder what will the business community think of this striking innovation? It must be remembered that inspectors are brought into contact with every form of financial and commercial activity, and more confidential information is received at the income-tax offices than at any other Government department. Must we, then, with the coming of the lady income-tax inspector, discard the old gibe that a woman cannot keep a secret? But, apart from this, one can imagine the feelings of some irate grey-haired City magnate bursting into the local inspector’s office, finding himself confronted with a young, smiling, handsome University girl, and sitting, down as calmly as he can to discuss with her the law of contract and tort or the English law of trusts, partnerships, bankruptcy, companies. Further, as showing what is expected from the lady inspector, the Inland Revenue points out that a hearing before the Appeal Commissioners the case for the Crown is usually conducted by the inspector, whose (note this, you male cynics) legal and technical knowledge and forensic skill must be sufficient to enable her to hold her own against counsel and solicitors.

A WIDE EXAMINATION.

A short summary of the regulations, which are the same for men and women, will show the high standard required from the candidates. In the first place, all candidates must be nominated by the authorities of a University to which they are or have been attached as whole-time students, as being suitable for the work of the tax inspectorate. The limits of age are 21 and 24. Female candidates must be unmarried or widows. A fee of £6 is required from every candidate, and the examination will be in the following subjects:

SECTION A.

1. Essay, maximum marks 100. 2. English, 100. 3. Present day, 100. 4. Everyday science, 100. 5. Viva voce, 200.

SECTION B.

6. Business organisation, 100. 7. Accounting, 100. 8. Economics, 200. 9. Banking & exchange, 100. 10. Statistics, 100. 11. Contracts & torts, 100. 12. Law of trusts, &c., 100. 13. Real & personal property, 100. 14. Constitutional law, 100. 15. Law of evidence, 100. 16: Roman law, 100. 17. French, 200. 18. German, 200. 19. Italian, 200. 20. Spanish, 200. 21. Russian, 200. 22. Latin, 200. 23. Ancient Greek, 200. 24. English history, 200. 25. European history, 200. 26. Industrial history, 100. 27. Lower mathematics, 200. 28. Higher mathematics, 200. 29. Geography, 200. 30. Physics, 200. 31. Chemistry, 200. 32. Botany, 200. 33. Geology, 200 In Section A candidates take all subjects; in Section B the candidate may offer subjects up to a maximum mark of 600, provided that not more than four of the subjects numbered 11 to 16, or more than two of the subjects numbered 17 to 23, or more than two of the subjects numbered 29 to 33 may be offered. A candidate desiring to offer any of the subjects 30 to 33 must produce evidence to the Civil Service Commissioners of laboratory training in an institution of university rank. For geography other equivalent training will be required. A few extracts from the syllabus will show the far-reaching character of this examination at which women for the first time will be pitted against men. PRESENT DAY. – Questions on contemporary subjects, social, economic, and constitutional viva voce. The examination is intended to test the candidate’s alertness, intelligence, and general outlook. BUSINESS ORGANISATION. – The various forms of business undertakings (partnerships, companies, co-operative production, producers’ societies, co-operative distribution) and their organisation, working, and control. The various classes of business (manufacturers, importers, wholesalers, brokers, retailers, multiple shops. &c.). The financing of business, including taxation, public expenditure, and public borrowing in relation thereto. Trusts and combinations; grading and standardisation of commodities; organisation of markets, regulation of prices. Industrial History. ACCOUNTING.– The general principles of accounting and their practical application to different classes of business. BANKING AND EXCHANGE. – Banking and the money market. REAL AND PERSONAL PROPERTY. – The English law of real and personal property, including the law of succession. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW. – The Constitutional Law of the United Kingdom and of the British Empire. ENGLISH HISTORY. – English history from 1485 to the present. EUROPEAN HISTORY. – From 1715 to 1914. HIGHER MATHEMATICS. – Infinite series; exponential and trigonometric functions of a real variable; complex numbers; solid analytical geometry of the plane, straight line, and sphere; Taylor’s series; partial differentiation; moments of inertia; Centrodes; simple cases of linked mechanisms; the motion of rigid bodies in two dimensions; fluid pressure; stability of flotation. Never before at any examination for the Civil Service, and perhaps outside it, were women subjected to such a test as this, and it will be extremely interesting to see how they acquit themselves. The scales of salary for women have not yet been fixed, but those for men starts at £130, with bonus addition – not too generous a remuneration for one expected to possess all this knowledge.