Budget Surplus Of £462m

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28250, 11 April 1957, Page 13

Budget Surplus Of £462m

Mr Thorneycroft has budgeted for a surplus of £461,973,000 compared with a surplus of £290 million for the financial year ended on March 31.

Estimated expenditure for the 1957-58 financial year is £4,826,877,000, against a likely revenue of £5,288,850,000. Mr Thorneycroft gave his concessions to the higher income bracket groups in the form of new taxation allowances.

Up to now, an “earned income allowance” of two-ninths has been given on - all salaries up to £2OOO a year. This allowance is deducted from income before tax is levied.

Today, Mr Thorneycroft announced that this would be extended to incomes up to £4OOO a year. For incomes of between £4OOO and £lO,OOO a year, there would be a one-ninth allowance. The effect of these concessions will be that a single man earning £4OOO a year will pay £1490 a year in income tax —£180 less than previously. A married man with two young children, on the same income will pay £239 less. The Chancellor also made the starting point of surtax for married couples £2lOO a year instead of £2OOO. Full ta.z relief on “live” theatre shows, effective from May 5. will cost £2,250,000 in a year.

The lifting of all entertainment tax on sports will cost the Government about £3,500.000 a year. Revenue will be down £6.500,000 through reductions made in the amounts picture theatres pay in entertainments tax.

Cuts of 15 per cent, (from 30 per cent.) from tomorrow on kitchen and tableware, cutlery, some furniture and floor coverings, including carpets, will cost £18,000.000 this year and £24,000,000 in a full year. Aid To Companies

Mr Thorneycroft said British companies controlled and managed in Britain, but trading overseas, would be exempted from income ta:i and profits tax on their trading profits earned abroad. This would not apply to dividends paid from these profits. *nie companies would be those trading overseas in mining, oil, agriculture, public utilities, and distributions.

He said he did not propose to include shipping or financial activities such as banking and insurance.

The Chancellor said he believed these proposals would help companies ploughing back their profit overseas. Many of, them operated in the Commonwealth and colonies.

Dropping of the “Suez shilling” on petrol will bring the tax back to 2s 6d a gallon and drop the retail price of fuel to an average of about 5s 2d a gallon. The concession to the shipping industry will amount to £11,500.000 in a full year. On personal taxation, Mr Thorneycroft said he felt he should give some help to the aged and announced that exemption from taxation for a single person of 65 would be raised from £l9O a year to £250. For married couples v, where either husband or wife was 65,

the exemption would be raised to £4OO. Parents with children at school will get £25 increase in the child allowance of £lOO for those at the age of 12 and £5O extra for 47-year-old children still being educated or serving a trade apprenticeship. On the revenue-increasing side, Mr Thorneycroft said that his higher radio-television licence fees would come into force on August 1. The new duty will yield £1,250,000 this year, and £8,000,000 in a full year. Cheers from all sides of the House greeted his announcement that the living theatre and sports would be freed from entertainment tax. For years, theatre managers have complained that the theatre in Britain was dying, and have pressed for tax concessions.