Labour Sees Polls As Budget Motive

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30100, 6 April 1963, Page 11

Labour Sees Polls As Budget Motive

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) LONDON, April 5. The British Labour Party yesterday launched its Parliamentary attack on yesterday’s “family man” budget by accusing the Conservative Government of using reliefs for electoral purposes.

The Labour financial spokesman, Mr James Callaghan, told the House of Commons: “Seventy per cent, of all the reliefs gi v en away in taxation and otherwise by the Government during their period in office have been concentrated in the two election years (1955 and 1959) plus this year when we are running up to an election.

“I do not know when it will be and I am sure the Prime Minister does not. It depends on how long he can keep a tottering Government together “The Chancellor (Mr Maudling) must forgive us if we are really disbelieving about the motives and consequences of the Government’s sudden conversion to a policy of expansion ” Mr Callaghan said he believed there was need for even more incentives than the Chancellor had given through his Budget, if Britain’s industry was to go full out again There was a case for “a relatively sudden spurt for 12 months” before settling d„wn to a steady rate of growth of 4 per cent. Mr Callaghan said he thought Mr Maudlings new growth targets were still too low. If the Chancellor really believed in expansion above everything else, he might have to take some uncomfortable decisions, such as import control He conceded, however, that Mr Maudlings tax reductions —benefiting mainly the mid-dle-class family man with t* ir emphasis on bigger basic tax-free allowances for husband. wife and children—

were made “in the right places.”

The main speaker for the Government, the President of the Board of Trade (Mr Erroll) defined the economic objectives as “sound growth based on full and efficient use of resources with a strong balance of payments derived from commercial success throughout the world.” Mr Erroll said he was going to be tough, when issuing so-called industrial development certificates, to make sure that new projects which coulo reasonably be expected to go to areas of high unemployment, did not go elsewhere. Political circles considered more tax cuts later this year to be a distinct possibility, the “Evening Standard” said. These new cuts would be concentrated on indirect taxation and would not require a formal Budget. The changes would involve the use of the Government’s “regulator” device on purchase tax, which allows it to reduce the tax and duty on drinking, smoking and a wide range of shop goods by anything up to 10 per cent.