FINANCE DEBATE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 151, 27 May 1938, Page 7

FINANCE DEBATE.

PROFITEERING ALLEGED. BURDEN OF TAXATION. (British Official Wireless.) Received May 27 12.10 p.m. RUGBY, May 26. • Speaking in the finance debate in the House of Commons to-day, A. V. Alexander (Labour) declared that the Government had increased the deadweight debt from £7,400,000 to £8,500,000 and started a series of unbalanced Budgets after absorbing for expenditure the whole of the economies on the war loan conversion operation. His criticism of the Finance Bill he based on the contrast he sought do draw between profiteering, which he alleged was taking place out of rearmament and from State subsidies, .on the one hand, and the heavy indirect taxation on the other. The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Sir John Simon), replying, rebutted the suggestion that taxation was inequitably distributed, and, referring to the balancing of the Budget and borrowing, said lie had kept two propositions in mind in considering the right course to adopt. The first was that borrowing only postponed payment —it did not obviate it; and the second was that the increased burdens they faced today were rot likely to be reduced quickly or substantially. The Chancellor then made an important announcement on the relief to be afforded in respect of air raid precautions. He said the Government would introduce legislation to secure that the annual values of properties should not be increased for purposes either of income tax or for rating, by reason of expenditure incurred in structural alterations, additions or improvements made solely for the purpose of protection in the event of air raids. Sir John said there was no proof there had been vast profiteering in armaments.