PURCHASE TAX IN BRITAIN
Mr Butler Discloses Budget Secret LONDON, February 11. The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr R. A. Eutler) sprang a surprise today by disclosing a Budget secret before April. He told the House of Commons that the Budget would contain no changes in the purchase tax which Britons pay on most goods they buy over the counter.
Mr Butler said he took this unprecedented step to end the uncertainty which was interfering with trade. Labour Party speakers immediately attacked him, saying that the decision would disappoint industry and the housewife. Mr Harold Wilson, a former Labour President of the Board of Trade, said the decision would be a very grave blow to Lancashire.
Reuter says that Mr Butler’s announcement flattened the hopes of Britons that they would be' able to buy many things cheaper after the Budget. Persons considering buying television sets, motor-cars, and washing machines (the purchase tax is 50 per cent, of the wholesale price) have been holding off till after the Budget. Many industries have complained to the Treasury that the uncertainty was hitting business.
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Press, Volume XC, Issue 27273, 13 February 1954, Page 7
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181PURCHASE TAX IN BRITAIN Press, Volume XC, Issue 27273, 13 February 1954, Page 7
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