SPECIAL WAR TAXATION

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume LXIV, Issue 6578, 20 October 1939, Page 4

SPECIAL WAR TAXATION

ULTIMATE DECISION

ECONOMICS

-"Practically throughout -the British ■JSmpirei the«waruhas necessitated! special, taxation, anvL generally * Xhe t people realise ( that cthe?price ;ihati must" be paid ifiHitlerisnuis to,:be eradica.ted from- the .-world. .Taxes :;are jnever welcome, but they.are. inevitable, arid they .-give i rise; to-complaints by varof their ialleged -.unfair incidence. Taxes rnever evenly or? fairlallsectionsi Gf the 'ithatis the .fatlt of redf tape.* The British;. Government has beenvpromptto deals with finance, •arid' emergency* dutiessarei'designed> to tax the - rich t rather ( than. the •less rich. 'Spread overtheiwhole-: community the^taxes-tare) equal to. 8s j6d, per capita. 'The' maximum-income tax hitherto 6s >6d in the ; £l'is "raised;, to .7s' immediately. -And .'thereis -'also the surtax. Estate tiufciesttax «isi increased aridexccss-pr^fitstaxisr-also^imposed. There are 'increased duties on \ beer, -wines, spirits--and tobacco, and a tax of tone penny -per-pound -on sugar, which has --already been- passed -on to ; consumer.

' I The-additionalfcaxationis= estimated j to yield "The estimate 'for• the current«year over. £900,000,000,»is - now -JK>t to, bring'in •- m ore t; than r £850,000,000, and 'irr the-yearl94o-4PBritain 4&>expected, to^deal'with j $1000 rtfillions, but ~as ihe f t3hancellor? said*, the-priee' ©f victory- be high;- itJs..a -price -worth ■ paying;" -isher- can-'doiibt that? There is?some sameness in -the 'war taxes-:4mposedin. New Zealand '-arid -in ißeer, wines, spirits, tobacco, income tax,.es-. tate : duties,-are all-raised, and excess, .profits guarded „%gainst. JB.ut there Js -aianairked difference. ImfchesHouse.j# Commons the Chancellor gave an surance that-all unnecessary expendi* ture in British Government Departments would- be stringently curtailed. That is not the case in the The activities of the Government-are to be maintained at the normalilevel —that is;ta:aay works,' housing and otber.activities ace, ta bee continued rjthe ssarae cold idaviah scale. ITJots fee&ni&dfliiieii to normal expen result in currency inflation. Of coure i tbe taxation > imposed will not go farxaifc meeting war expenditure, and the Government -proposes to borrow; -locally,-'arid to make use the Heserve ; Bank. -What -amount- of ' loan * money the Government will endeavour-; to raise -is,- known,* but a "*Khaki 1 Loan" on equitable r terms should 'meet with -success. ' Lattery! investors • have shown ■- a partiality for Government securities, -arid * therefore a war loan should meet with success* The Reserve Bank is to be askedpto finance the needs of the Government, and it is difficult *to see ' how tthej country can escape - currency' inflation j, The Government has already rowed very' heavily'from the* Reserve Bank, ""for on ""September - the *a.d 4 vances to the" State 'for ""other | pswri poses" amounted to £18,250,*000. dt ; cannot" be long' before it exceeds- £20/? 000,000.

. Apart from tbe;roar of big guns.&nd. aeroplanes, the war-will ultimately bq decided .fey economics. 'The Chancellor,""Sir John* Simon, ih intrtfthrtipgjihe Emergency Budget, referred to Jibia aspect of the-problem and said: 'fThis .emergency v«rf]l -..indicate the -i^avity«of>aihe.ftaßntial-„andiinduatjaa^ problems involved in•. waging ; hut 4et ;l y Sutake-a.few jmsment-ofr com < y£ort qbyxwayvof ccorjapiftisisctti. However ,serio.us v fee,„fche #tH> aiicial infinitely jpound, sterling remains,the* metlium oofinterrmti owaV trade. [The {rpqiyid i-stealing for/allr^i^per^tposesaattihe^cm!: rate of asxpublisfeect daily. On the other, hand, even, the war,£the?official rate of the "Gtsr* man mark really meant nothing ateail. Thererwere? Sogd|flferent>irands?6f mairks ea»h-ishoiwjng°a/.;differenfetdeg*ee(()f^e-precaaiion. *At.? ma*k4ias international! is/likely T,to rapidly: lose* Matorjfr tendency- in£o Mevelop fiJtfcher.xttßdei isfarv.corti3i* 'Mereani&ei?(sMt:seitse.