U.N. BUDGET ADOPTED

Press, Volume C, Issue 29702, 21 December 1961, Page 10

U.N. BUDGET ADOPTED

Assessments Changed (N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) NEW YORK, Dec. 19. The United Nations General Assembly late last night adopted overwhelmingly a new scale of assessments to finance the United Nations' regular budget over the next three years. It overrode Soviet protests that the new scale was unfair to East European countries, and adopted by a vote of 77 in favour, 11 against and one abstention a draft resolution recommending an increase of 1.47 per cent, in the Soviet Union’s annual contribution. Japan abstained and asked that the Contributions Committee re-examine the assessment for Japan when it meets to review the scale next year. The Soviet Union voted against the assessment proposals because "a very important error” had been made by the committee when it compiled the scale, the Soviet delegate (Mr A. A. Roschin) said. The committee had ignored indirect taxation in assessing the Soviet Union’s national income, he said. Except for the Soviet Union, other changes in assessments were less than 1 per cent. The United States will remain the largest contributor to the budget, being assessed at 32.20 per cent, intsead of its present 32.02 per cent.