BRITISH PURCHASE TAX.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 210, 3 August 1940, Page 6

BRITISH PURCHASE TAX.

ESTIMATED REVENUE. LONDON, Aug. 1. The second Finance Bill of the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Sir Kingsley Wood), containing the proposals of his Budget speech, was published to-day. The Bill gives details of the scope of the Purchase Tax. There are to be two rates of tax. The first will be one-third of the wholesale value of goods which are either luxuries or such that people can avoid buying. The second is one-sixth of the wholesale value and will apply to goods of a non-luxury character. The Bill lists the goods on which taxes will be levied. The public will pay one-third on carpets, china, furniture, travel goods, musical instruments, wireless sets, clocks, and jewellery. The higher rate will be payable on pipes, clothes, and haberdashery, umbrellas, toys, games and sporfs appliances. Business houses will also pay the full rate on typewriters, dictaphones, calculating machines, and even pencils, pens, ink and drawing-pins. The lower rate will apply to clothing and boots and slices which are not luxuries. Young children’s clothing will be entirely exempt. The tax wi.l be levied normally at the point where the goods are sold bv the wholesaler to the retailer so that goods for export will be free of tax. The Chancellor of the Exchequer stated that the revenue estimated from the application of the purchase tax in the full year to newspapers ' and books was between £3.250,000 and £3,500 000 from all newspapers and periodicals and between £1,000,000 and £1,250,000 from books.