The Grey River Argus FRIDAY, April 23rd, 1937. THE BRITISH BUDGET.

Grey River Argus, 23 April 1937, Page 4

The Grey River Argus FRIDAY, April 23rd, 1937. THE BRITISH BUDGET.

The official outlook on Britain’s financial position makes a claim to be optimistic, but the Budget figures do not bear this out. There is to be 3d of an increase to 5s in the £ in income tax, and a new tax on profits, on top of which, more than a hundred millions per annum is being borrowed for the next four years. To meet the expenditure this year of 863 millions, taxable resources are going to be (Strained as never before. No doubt those firms vtth fat armament orders will contribute a lot to the more than 20 millions expected next year from the new profits tax, but a whole lot of other firms not battening on armament orders are going to be hit very hard. There would be no end to the hullabaloo did a Labour Government raise for social betterment the exactions from taxpayers to such a height as the Tories are raising them in the name of rearmament. Now, the Government can be given some credit when it stresses the employment aspect of the rearmament. The term probably covers in reality what industrial capitalism conceives to be the line of least resistance in increasing employment. Ths quarter to which the Government looks for reabsorbing’ idle labour is that which does not exclusively produce armaments, but at the same time the manifold mechanism that goes with continuance and even expansion of industrial capitalism itself. Yet that system already has partly broken down, and this artificial reviver will lead most probably to only another reaction as soon as the impetus ends. The impetus is, of course, the money borrowed and exacted by taxation. The loans, or at least the interest, must come out of taxation. The Chancellor says he has no fear of revenue failing meantime. Why should he with the loans and the extra taxes calculated next year to raise about fifty millions? It it not long since the Government found the money for a couple of the biggest Atlantic liners for a shipping combine. It looks, indeed, as if industrial capitalism entails now something in reality very like what its defenders declare ■would be entailed by Socialism. The State has to come to the rescue, even though with one hand it takes back part at least of what it gives out with the other hand. It is said Conservatives hearing the Budget speech declared it to be “brilliant Socialism.” It is said the business

tax is a good precedent for a capital levy. It may be that tl>3 precedent will yet be used, however, by a Conservative rather than a Labour regime. 2V third of profits increase for a given period will be payable to the State if the rate of profit increase is above 15 per cent., a quarter if the rate is over 10 per cent., and a fifth if the rate of increase is over six per cent. The fact of the matter is that a virtue is made of hard necessity. There is nowhere else to go for the needful except to corporations whicn are largely being supported artificially by the State outlay oh armaments. .It is doubtless quite fair that these should in the circumstances be so mulcted. Because if their profit increase next year is rated by the Chancellor at a hundred millions, it is easy to see other taxpayers are providing seventy-five millions towards paying them for their output. It is said the Budget is going to cheek speculation, and steady the national economy. So it will. The fact is also noteworthy, that where industry is so largely monopolised, a larger revenue can be had than if ownership were widely distributed, because after taking even fourfifths of the large incomes, enough would remain for the recipients to live like kings. But the main question is that of the ultimate consequences. The business tax will end when rearmament is completed no doubt, but where is the revenue coming from then? That is what has the dinkum Conservatives guessing.