BRITISH TAXATION

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIII, Issue 136, 11 June 1942, Page 5

BRITISH TAXATION

MORE THAN DOUBLED SINCE BEFORE THE WAR

RUGBY, June 9,

The Chancellor of the Exchequer. Sir Kingsley Wood, said during the debate on the Finance Bill that the Bill unavoidably added one more layer to the already heavy burden imposed by its four predecessors. It was the measure of Britain's will to leave nothing undone to achieve victory.

' "The fact is," he said, "that even if we exclude the excess profits tax, the estimated full yield of all the new taxation imposed by the five War Budgets amounts to £934,000,000— £38,000,000 greater than the whole of our tax revenue in 1938. So that, even apart- from the excess profits, tax, the burden of taxation has been more than doubled since before the war." Of the £934,000,000, the sum of £500,000,000 was . accounted for by direct taxation and £434,000,000 by indirect taxation.

In. the course of his speech.' the Chancellor made the point that stabilisation of prices.should go .on, "since its importance as a factor in pre-serving-a sound moral, social, and economic foundation for our war effort could hardly be exaggerated."-—B.O.TT.