MR. ASQUITH'S THIRD BUDGET.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 193, 9 May 1908, Page 5

MR. ASQUITH'S THIRD BUDGET.

PENSIONS AT SEVENTY YEARS. THE NATIONAL DEBT. SURPLUS £4,776,000: REDUCTION OF SUGAR DUTY. BY TELF.GBA>H—FBESS ASSOCIATION— OOPTBIOIH. ■ (Hoc. May 8, 10.35 p.m.) London, May 8. •In the House of Commons the Prime Minister (the Right Hon. H. H. Asquith) delivered his third Budget. The position of the revenue and oxpenditurei estimated and actual, Is as follows: — FINANCIAL YEAR 1907-08. Revenue .. ... ... £156,538,000 Expenditure "... ... ... £151,762,000 Surplus ... ...' £4,776,000 .The Prime .Minister estimated tiie revenue for 1908-9 at £157,770,000, and the expenditure at £152,869,000, leaving an estimated gross surplus of £4,901,000. The income tax during 1907-8 yielded £1,180,000 above the estimate. The differentiation in the levying of the income tax (between earned and unearned incomes below £2000 a year) had proved, besides being practicable, smooth in working, and had imparted equality to a permanent tax. . ■ Tho National Dobt had been reduced by £18,030,000 during tho year, and by the end of 1903 it would bo reduced to £696,000,000, the same figures as it stood at in 1888. Under his predecessor, the reduction of the National Debt had been at the rato of nine millions a 'year. Under tho present Government the rate had been £13,500,000 a year, The reduction of the interest being paid on the National Debt amounted to nearly 1J million a year. All this had been done out of taxation. The time was now approaching to slacken the rate of reduction, and to. relieve the. taxpayer. Regarding old age ponsions, Mr. Asquith said that the Treasury, and not the local authorities, must pay the cost." Some'discrimination was essential. He f proposed that, except in the case of aliens and lunatics, .those .of 70 years and'upwards—not actually in roceipt of poor law relief, and not disqualified by recent convictions for serious crime, or by' possession of an income,of £26 per annum or. upwards or (in tho case of married couplet) of £39 per. annum or upwards—should be entitled from January 1, . 1908, to a pension of ss. per week, except married couples jiving'together. In the case of a husband and wife living together,where'both particswere entitled to a pension, a joint pension of"7s. 6d. per week would be given. , He, assumed that tho number of pensioned under these conditions would not exceed half a million, and that the maximum cost of this old age pensions scheme would be six millions per annum. The cost of pensions from January 1, 1909, to April 1 (the beginning of the financial year) would be £1,200,000. Mr. Asquith appropriates the realised (?) surplus of £4,776,000 chiefly for old age pensions. The proposed reduction of the duty on sugar to 2s. 4d. per hundredweight, or a farthing per lb., will cost the revenue £3,400,000. ■ The Budget proposes no new taxation. . ,

,7 . A UNIONIST TRIBUTE. " ;' UNION ALLOWANCE WILL NOT' ; ' ''■ ' DISQUALIFY. (Rec. May 8, 10.55 p!m.) London, May 8. Mr. Austen Chamberlain, who . was Chancellor of .the. Exchequer in the, last Unionist Government, said he thought that a .contributory anil compulsory Bohenio of pensions might have been framed with success.' .' \ .Mr. H. , IL. Chaplin, (who ' was President, of the Local Government Board in a former Unionist sand-, who was .Chairman of .tii© Committee that in 1899 _ framed, a' modified: old . age, pension scheme), complimented Mr. Asquith both aS regards his old ago pensions • scheme, and the lucidity with which he had unfolded his Budget. Mr. Chaplin "remarked:./."Since- Mr. Gladstone's great Budgot I have not heard so great, an effort." ■. • ' • : .. - Mr. A. Henderson,' Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour party, expressed dissatisfaction with the, ponsioris scheme, both' as regards the age and the income limits. Mr. John Burns, President of the Local Government Board,' stated that the receipt of iOs. a week as superannuation allowance from: a' trado' fund would not disqualifythe. recipient for. an old ago pension.' Mr. Lloyd-George, Chancellor of the Exchequer, intimated that the Pensions -Bill would provide for the scheme being administratively worked through the post, office'and local pension authorities and a pension officer, acting under the Excise Department. The. usual resolutions were agreed to, except . the .income tax resolution, which will be discussed later. , ,

OLD AGE PENSIONS

The Labour party is. dissatisfied with the, old'ago pensions' scheme. Tho party wanted a universal pension' from 65 years aha up-* wards; the Government offers a restricted pen-' sion from 70 years, and upwards—"very old age pensions," as a Home ctitic terms it. ' Mr. Asquith offers ss. for ;a single septuagenarian, or 3s. 9d. each to;married' and cohabiting, septuagenarians; subject tD the following conditions: Recipient (1)' Must not be an alien or a lunatic. (2) Must not be in actual receipt of poor relief,! . ~ (3) Must not have been recently convicted of. a serious crime. : (4) Must not havo an income'above the stated limit (In the case of a single man - 10s, a week). . , • ~ Under the scheme of Mr. Chaplin's Committee in 1899,'-the following persons were proposod to be disqualified: '••■■■ (1) Those in receipt of an income of. ' ,10s. a week. (2) Those who have received poor relief within twenty years of their application'for a pension. ■ . (3) Aliens, lunatics,.and criminals... ; ... (4) Those who could not show that' , • they have ondeavoured to make pro- 1 vision for themselves and those depen- , dent on them. According to a memorandum issued in July last year by the' Local Government Board, to give pensions to all persons, without ■ distinction, would cost: Pension . Cost per Age limit. ' per wcok. year. 65 arid upwards ss. £27,508,000 70 and upwards ss. £16,302,000 According to tho Local/ Government; Board's meniorandnm, tho number of people in Great Britain over G5 years of age, and tho number of these who are over 70 years of age (and thoroforo beneficiaries by Mr. Asquitb's Bchome), are respectively ns-under: B5 years and upwards ... 2,116,000 70 yoars and upwards ... 1,254,000 Tho present scheme affects only tho smaller number; that is to say, 8G2.000 people over G5 years but not over 70 years will not participate in tho pension, even if otherwise qualified. As the realised surplus goes automatically by law to reductioii of tho National Debt, it is hard to sco how, as stated in the cablegram, tho "realised surplus of .£4,770,000" is appropriated "chiefly for old ago pensions." Perhaps tho estimated surplus for 19(18-09 is moant. It would apparently require an amending Bill. Mr.' Asquith maintains that he has already in hand J!2,2!)0,0D0 for old age'pensions (as forecasted in last year's Bndget). A great point-Iks been made by the Liberals of the fact that the eld age pensions will be distributed not through the.machinery of the Poor Law,' but by the. departmental arrangements mentioned by Mr, Lloyd-George. The National Debt amounted on March 31, 1907, to &V\, 164,701 gross, and i731.1G3.418 net, being at the rate'of ,£IG lis. 7}d. per head of the'population of tho United Kingdom; tho annual oost for 1800-07 being .£23,500,000, or 13s, per head.'

■ INCOME TAX. ' . The differentiation referred to by Mr.- As•quith is. 1 evidently as regards 1 earned 'and linearned incomes, a . differentiation which was introduced in the Budget of last year. Under that Budget, the income tax remained at one shilling, but when the/total income does not cxceel. £2000, then, any part of it which is earned is to bo rated only at ninepence, whilo the unearned portion'(6uch as that' fiom investments) has to • pay the full shilling. Thus, an : incomo of .£ISOO wholly unearned pays 15005, i or* .£75. , If it is all earned, it' pays 1500 ninepences, or. 356' ss. : If it is half earned i and half unearned, then it pays Is. on half.and. 9d. on half,'or a total of £62 10s/ This concession : was estimated to cost the revenue .£1,250,000.' . ■ ' The Budget, states that the income tax for 1907-08 was. .£1,180,000 above the estimate. , In 1907 income ■ tax. realised £31,000,000, in' 190S ~£31,359,000.' ' . . FINANCES SINCE 1881. The following .return shows tli3 revenue and expenditure, with surplus'or deficit; , for the_ years mentioned; tho year boing to March 31 in each case: —: •' . Surplus or Tear. Revenue.. „ Expenditure. Deficit. «£. <£. ■ ,£. 1880 79,344,098 ... 82,184,797 ... *2,840,099 1885 87,988,110 ... 89,037,883 ... *1,049,773 1890 . 89,304,316 ... 86,083,314 ... 3,221,002 ,1895 94,683,762 ...'.93,918,421 ... 765,341 1900' '119,839,905 ... 133,722,407 ... *13,882,502 1903 151,551,698 ... -184,483,708 .<• *32,932,010 1904 141,545,579 ... 146,961,136 ... *5,415,557 1905 143,370,404 ... 141,956,497 ... 1,413,907. 1906; 143,977,575 ...i 140,511,995 ... 3,465,580 1907 144,814,073 ...139,415,251 ... '5,398,822 •Indicates deficit. ■' The present duty on sugar ranges from 2s. per owt. upwards, according to quality.

LABOUR COMPLAINS.