TO-DAY'S NEWS. GREATEST BUDGET IN NATION'S HISTORY.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXV, Issue 8250, 22 September 1915, Page 5

TO-DAY'S NEWS. GREATEST BUDGET IN NATION'S HISTORY.

VERY HEAVY TAXATION PROPOSALS. . —^"(Received September 22, 12.20 p.m".) LONDON, September 21. The introduction of the Budget in the House of Commons .presented one of those rare scenes 'which ( mark-the biggest events of its history. It was the greatest Budget ever inproduced, and it drew enormous crowds within and without the House. Parliament Square and the approaches to the Palace yard were filled with people anxious to see the controllers of the country's destinies passing through to Westminster Hall. The lobbies and the central hall were blocked with people anxious to get admission to the Chamber or to secure a first hint of the new burdens of taxation. Merchants or their representatives always crowd Parliament on a Budget night. Changes in the duties mean much to the masters of commerce, and many are the expedients resorted to in order to escape from the building with the news of a fresh tax or a lowered duty. - Within the Chamber the gangways and galleries were packed to suffocation. Many members, before noon, deposited cards '. in. their.. seats, and ■'; applicants for tickets: to tha.;Strahgers J , Gallery thronged" the.; precincts, 'and : : not a tithe of the desired accommodation .was" available. . Some 2000 peers and diplomatists looked down from their respective galleries upon an animated scene of black coats and white waistcoats/ dotted with bald heads and sprinkled with khaki uniforms. Well-dressed women were descried behind the grille of the ladies' gallery, but it might have been a harem, and not a face was distinguishable. !.' The front bench was a strange compound of all sorts of politicians—Radi- ■ cals and Tories side-by-side, and Sir Alfred Mond in close coalition with Sir Harry Verney. ; Unprecedented Burdens. Mr Mclvenna asked the House to assent to great and unprecedented burdens. The estimated revenue on the existing basis was £272,000,<jva.-, and the expenditure £1,690,— ,000. ' He was sure the country would courageously and confidently face the outlay, but every section must contribute to make the great sacrifices. It was estimated that at the-end of this year the dead weight of debt would be £2,200,060,000;,; 'but --this 'would in nowise cripple - ouv resources. We had a Navy costing £190,000,000, an Army costing £715,000,000, and external advances amounting ...-•'to j £423,000,000. The estimated daily j rate of expenditure on all services from now to the end of the financial : year was upwards of £4,500^000, possibly rising, towards the close of the financial year, to upwards of £5,000,000. Fiscal Theories Discarded. Mr. McKenna said the expenditure for .the current year included, "'; £36,000,000. on pro .and post mora- .,; torium 'bills and £180,000,000 on ordinary national services, excluding the Army and Navy. There was no record of* any nation voluntarily accepting liabilities bearing so high a proportion to its total income, provision for which must be made within a single year. With regard to the new taxation, he might be a strict freetrader or scientific tariff reformer, but he must temporarily put fiscal theories aside and look at the condition of foreign exand discourage imports ; he i must also have strict regard for thoj necessity of" a reduction in consumption. 40 Per Cent. Increase in Income Tax. " The proposals added 40 per cent, to the income tax, the 40. per cent, in- \ crease to be for a full year, making 20 per cent, for the remaining six months. The exemption'limit was reduced to, say, £130, and the abatement to £126, payable half-yearly. The proposed changes in the income tax would yield an: increase of £11,974,000, realising in the full year £44,400,000. It was proposed to tax war profits, also to raise the super-tax scale. A man without children earning 60s weekly would pay 18s Jld quarterly, and.a'man similarly circumstanced earning 80s, weekly would pay 46s 2d • quarterly. l A man with ( £SOOO a year would pay £1029, 'a man with £10,000 would pay £2529, and a man with over £10,000 per annum would pay 7s in the pound sterling for all over £10,000. The possessor of £100,000 per year would.pay £34,029. The revenue from the excess of war. profits was estimated at £30,000,000, nnd would be collected before March 31. The total additional revenue for the full effective year under the inland revenue was estimated at £77,000,^j. Sugar and Tea Affected. The proposed sugar duty increases the price $d per pound, yielding £11,700,000 per year, and there would !>e a 50 per cent, increase on tea, « coffee, dried fruits, and tobacco. The } increase on tea would produce » £4 500 000 per year, and on tobacco £500,000. Thero would also be an mcreasp in the motor /spirits duty of

3d . per gallon, and the patent medicines duty was doubled, yielding £250,000. There was no alteration in . beer and spirits. Tax on Luxuries. Dealing with, imports, which might properly be restricted by duties for reasons of foreign exchange, and the restriction of luxury, he proposed an ad valorem duty of 33 1-3 per cent, on motor-cars, motor-cycles, cinema films, clocks, watches, musical instruments, plate glass, and hats, yielding £1,150,000 per year. The changes in the Post Office and Telegraph rates would yield £4.975,000. The total additional revenue, Customs and excise, for the present year was £25,000,000, and the total new taxation £10.215.000 per year. The Retrenchment Committee adopted a suggestion for the abolition of the id postnge reduction in the weight of letters carried for Id, a higher scale for parcels post, inland telegrams, and Press telegrams, an increase in the poundage on postal orders, and higher telephone charges. We treble our debt and double our , I taxation. If the war continued, his j proposals would not be the last word. He urged increased personal economy.