Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 1947. BRITISH BUDGET

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 67, Issue 159, 18 April 1947, Page 2

Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 1947. BRITISH BUDGET

It is a well-known fact that figures can he twisted to indicate almost anything that can he desired. It is not suggested that Britain’s Chancellor, Dr. Hugh Dalton, has done this in his latest Budget, but it is difficult to realise, in view of all that has been said and written in recent months concerning the economic position at Home, that the internal financial position is as sound as has been made out. If Britain internally has recovered to the extent that the Budget reveals, then the future can be looked forward to with a good deal less misgiving. No Budget ever produced in any country found universal favour, and it was, not expected that Dr. Dalton’s latest effort would be to the liking of everyone. In the main the British people hoped for some easing of the burden which they have had to carry for so long, but their hopes have not been realised. Some concessions have been made, but they can only be regarded as token amounts. Actually taxation has increased over a full year to the extent of £53.000,000. It may not seem much in a Budget which runs into hundreds of millions; actually it is little more than £1 per head of the population, but it is contended that there was no need to make any increase at all. The arguments advanced are that the Chancellor did not need to strive for so high a surplus; that a net increase so long after the end of the war was discouraging, and that the Government was stabilising expenditure at an unreasonably high level. On the facts revealed by Dr. Dalton there are good grounds for this criticism, and the popularity of the Government is not likely to be improved. There will doubtless be an outcry against the tobacco tax, particularly as the Chancellor left betting alone. Before the presentation of the Budget it was fairly generally felt that Dr. Dalton had a scheme in mind for collecting a fairly large income from those who invested the humble shilling jvith the “books” or on the dogs. Mr Churchill in' his day made the ef - fort, but failed, but conditions now are much more favourable for the effort, and it is surprising that this vast source of potential wealth was left untapped. Sport in Britain undoubtedly pays a fairly, large contribution to the Exchequer at the moment through the entertainment tax, but the popularity of the various sporting pools shows quite clearly that they would not suffer in the way of patronage if the returns to the lucky investors were reduced a little. Dr. Dalton would have incurred less wrath had he proceeded along .these lines and left tobacco alone. The heavy increase in the tobacco duty has shocked the trade as well as consumers, and even Labour members are likely to have something to say in the matter in the course of the Budget debate.