Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 1911. THE BRITISH BUDGET.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 153, 10 April 1941, Page 4

Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 1911. THE BRITISH BUDGET.

Britain's fourth War Budget, presented to the House of Commons Monday, exceeds anything the taxpayers have yet been called upon to provide, and the colossal figures are the indication of the determination of the people to prosecute the war until the menace of individual and communal freedom is finally removed. The, Chancellor of the Exchequer pir Kingsley Wood) gained a unique place in history by completely ignoring sources of indirect taxation for providing the additional revenue required, confining his attention to increases in the charges on incomes. By reducing the exemption limit as many as two million people who have not previously paid income tax will be required to contribute to the general funds by this means. All classes of previous payers will be called upon Tor higher rates of contributions, the standard tax being raised to ten shillings compared with seven at the opening of the present war and not more than six shillings during the previous one. Even on incomes of a moderate amount the tax is equal to 6s 6d in the pound. Upon the very large incomes, enjoyed by those persons who are liable to surtax, the tax falls so severely that it might almost be said that, subject to a small discount, the Government takes them all. Actually, the persons, in receipt of these incomes will retain only 2j per cent of them, the tax payable by them absorbing 19s 6d out of every pound of income. As Sir Kingsley, explained, to enjoy a net income of £SOOO, tax-free, it will be necessary to have a gross income of £60,000. The object is not so' much to avoid. inflation of the currency as to bring the inflatory gap” down to safe dimensions. In its comment “The Times” expresses regret that the new taxation wiil weigh heavily on people of modest means, particularly the family But against this it finds some consolation in the fact that, among other proposals, the Chancellor has promised to stabilise the prices of necessities that affect the cost of living. An innovation is the incoration of a scheme /of compulsory saving, under which the amounts paid in consequence of the reductions in exemption and allowances, will, up to the limit of £65, be credited to the taxpayer in the Post Office Savings Bank at the end of the war. The Budget should bring home to New Zealanders the duty of sparing no effort in assisting Britain in the war, for it must not be forgotten that the people called upon to shoulder such heavy financial burdens are virtually in the front line of battle and exposed to the immediate risks of war.