TOO HEAVY.

Northern Advocate, 19 April 1923, Page 5

TOO HEAVY.

BURDEN ON INDUSTRY. "RICH MAN'S BUDGET."' LABOUR CRITICISM. LONDON, April 18. An interesting passage in Mr Stanley Baldwin's Budget delivery explained why the surplus of £101,000,000 was automatically applied to the reduction of debt. Mr Baldwin said it was a misapprehension to think this was still in our possession. To hold up a surplus of £101,000,000 in the Exchequer would produce a crisis of the greatest severity in the money market and make it impossible to collect the income tax revenue in the last quarter of the year. Incidentally, Mr Baldwin said the amount owing by the Dominions and the Allies was £2,095,000,000, of. which Australia owed £90,259.000, New Zealand £29,482,000, Canada £13,810,000, end South Africa £12,8^4,000. Opinion in the lobby regrets that the whole of the corporation tax was, not taken off. The gfi oral comment is that the Budget is careful but commonplace. The National Liberals hold i strongly that by putting £101,000,000 last year and £40,000,000 this year to the debt reduction, the Government is making the burden on industry too heavy, and in view of the huge realised Surplus £25,000,000 for debt reduction ' /would have been amply, enabling .the Chancellor'to take 1/ off the income tax and reduce the sugar duty. Members of the Labour party say it is a rich man's Budget. They will propose a reduction in the tea duty to 7d, and the abolition of the duty on dried fruit. They consider that breweTs, in view of their large profits, should contribute more than 4/ barrel towards the cost of the reduction of the beer duty, as the Government is giving a rebate of 20/ a barrel. ■ The "Daily Express" congratulates the Government on its sound, successful and popular Budget. The "Daily Chronicle" describes it as a mean, ungenerous Budget. Needs of women have been forgotten, while the needs of social reform have been ignored. —A. and N.Z.