BRITISH POLITICS

Hokitika Guardian, 30 April 1926, Page 3

BRITISH POLITICS

[Reuter Telegrams.]

BRITISH BETTING 'TAX, LONDON, April 28.

In the House of Commons, Mr W. Churchill replying to the debate to the Budget, said that tho trend of the debate showed the House more nearly agreed with this budget than was the case for the last twentyfive years. The Chancellor, he said, was not a dictator, and had not the power to veto expenditure. The responsibility for that rested with the Cabinet.

Referring to the betting tax, .Mr Churchill sketched the harried existence on the streets of the bookmakers owing to the activities of the police. Tt could not be suggested that the five per cent tax would make a respectable bookmaker seek for a hunted life on the streets. The bookmakers, lie said, were fully entitled to pass this tax on to their clients. That was, ho declared, the object of this tax. Ho was willing to discuss the methods and the machinery of the betting tax with representatives of the bookmakers. Taxing experts bad reported it to be a, tax easy and inexpensive to collect. The great bulk of it would be coming from the credit bookmakers. He estimated the turnover of betting ns at least one hundred and seventy millions sterling annually. DEBATE IN COMMONS. LONDON. April 29. In the Commons during a discussion on the Civil Service estimates, .Mr Waddington moved urging a greater development- of Empire trade, which was likely to respond at the earliest date, lie advocated a. survey of i lie Dominions to see which would be the most, fruitful, chiefly in regard to rail-

Sir ,T. Pcimefather in seconding, said tho Dominions were the greatest customers per capita. Tito trouble was that there were few people there. That was the first difficulty to be overcome, by big, bold, effective migration schemes. They wanted to reach the pre-war yearly total of two hundred thousand. Mr Barnes said he would not be a party to the exploitation of coloured communities for the benefit of capitalists. lie did not approach the problem from the viewpoint of making a self contained British, commonwealth which would build up racial hatred and prejudice, but from the more sensible standpoint that it presented a favourable. market, which we verc entitled to develop.