BALANCING THE BUDGET.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20560, 10 May 1930, Page 12

BALANCING THE BUDGET.

ADVICE TO CHANCELLOR.

TAX ON CATS AND DOGS.

[FROM OUR OWN* CORRESPONDENT.] LONDON, April 4.

At the dinner of the Institute of Actuaries Mr. Philip Snowdon, Chancellor of tho Exchequer, revealed some of tho secrets of his postbag. During the last few months, Mr. Snowden said, his postbag had brought him many hints .as to how he could meet what was apparently regarded as an inevitable deficit in the Budget. Tho commonest was that ho should raise the millions ho required by a tax on cats, and a graduated tax on dogs. " There seems," ho continued, amid laughter, " an epidemic of resentment against dogs. 1 am advised that it would promote sanitation and public health, and enable more peaceful sleep to be secured if I were to put a tax of £1 on the first dog, £2 on tho second, £4 on the third, £3 on tho fourth and so on. Being a rabid FreeTrader; I am afraid a tariff of that description would not harmonise with those principles." Confessing that he did not know very much about actuaries, Mr. Snowdon said they had been to him as magicians and witches wore regarded in former days—men capable of doing tricks, and manipulating things quite beyond the intellect of ordinary people. " But though I do not know much about actuaries, I do not know what Sir Alfred Watson, the Government actuary, doos for me," lie said. "He can tell me, for instance, what revenue, will bo required to meet the demands of unemployment provided the numbers are a certain figure. But I would like him to be :ililc to tell rue what the figures will be twelve months hence, lie can tell me what the average life of a millionaire is, but I would like him to toll how many millionaires are going to die next year and exactly how much they aro going to leave."

Mr. Snowden mentioned that although times had been bad and unemployment painfully high, there had been little, if, indeed, jiny, diminution in the savings of tho working people. This was very well illustrated in tho increase in tho number of policies issued by industrial insurance societies.