LABOUR'S BUDGET

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22487, 3 August 1936, Page 8

LABOUR'S BUDGET

INTENSE INTEREST' TAXATION PROPOSALS THE DEFENCE POLICY MR. NASH'S TASK [by telegraph—special reporter] WELLINGTON, Sunday The first Labour Budget i n the political history of New Zealand will be presented in the House of Represcntatives on Tuesday night by the Minister of Finance, the Hon. , W Nash. The appearance of the financial statement, with the certain inelusion of proposals for taxation changes, is being eagerly awaited throughout, tho country, and the demand for seats in the galleries for R Tuesday night has already' far ej. t cended the accommodation available. I The Prime Minister, Mr. Savage, an- | nounecd definitely to-day that ' the I whole of Mr. Nash's Budget speech is to be broadcast. It is expected that the reading of the statement will take Mr. Nash about two hours, but Mr. Savage stated that the decision to broadcast it in full had been made because of the widespread interest displayed on this occasion. Debate on Thursday Mr. Savage also stated that the Budget debate would open on Thursday evening, the customary day's grace being allowed for members to study the statement, in full. The first two speeches—that by the Leader of the Opposition, the Rt. Hon. G. W, Forbes, or whoever deputised for him, and that by a Government member —would also be broadcast. The result of the Government's d©. cision is that there will be two fairly long political broadcasts this week. As already stated Mr. Nash is likely to be on the air for two hours on Tuesday night, and in the debate itself members have the right to speak for an hour each, bo that there will be a further two hours' broadcast on Thursday night. Ordeal lor Mr. Nash Something of a physical ordeal Mr. Nash in his reading of the Budget, which by all accounts will be much more voluminous than usual. The Minister is at present suffering from a pronounced /throat weakness, for which he is receiving medical treatment. The affection became notice, able on Thursday when Mr. Nash was piloting the Finance Bill through the committee stage in the House. At times his voice was hardly audible, but throughout a sitting which lasted for over eight hours, exclusive of meal adjournments, he remained in his seat beside the chairman of committees, Mr. E. J. Howard, replying at frequent intervals to the arguments of the Opposition.

It was a severe strain for any man and although his doctors advised rest Mr. Nash remained at work in his office throughout Friday. He was engaged on the completion of the Budget, a task which took him until three o'clock yesterday morning. Then, after only a few hours' respite, he was in the Cabinet room placing his completed Budget before his Ministerial colleagues. Heavier Income Tax Mr. Nash's throat was somewhat easier yesterday, and he is confident that by Tuesday it will have improved sufficiently to allow hira to read his financial statement without difficulty. It would naturally be a great disappointment to him if he was unable personally to . present the document which, in his case, represents the result of weeks of hard and painstaking work. The contents of the Budget, of course, are being kept a closely-guarded secret, but sufficient is known to justify the statement that an increase in income tax is inevitable. The Prime Minister has already stated that the sales tax and company tax will remain unaltered this year, but it is believed that apart from income tax there will be taxation changes in other directions. Importance of Air Defence

It is probable, too, that details of Government policy in certain important activities will be announced in the Budget. This may apply particularly to the question of defence, which has been engaging the attention of the Cabinet- at intervals for some months. The Prime Minister has stated that greater importance is to attached to air defence, and this statement is expected to be amplified in any discussion of defence policy and expenditure.

Another fairly general expectation i« that the Budget will give detailed information regarding the future operation! of the Marketing Department in connection with the Government's scheme of guaranteed prices for dairy products. As the author of the plan which came into force yesterday, Mr. Nash may well be expected to devote considerable attention to the bearing of £ ,iar# anteed prices on the budgetary position. Question of Balancing Budget

A rcmarK made by Mr. Nash some weeks lie was in avour , o . balanced Budgets is generally regarded in Parliamentary circles as an indication of the ultimate goal of his financial proposals this year. Until the pr®* cise details are available it is c '' " cvdt to speculate as to the steps likely to be taken toward that end. The last financial year ended with a surplus 0 £281.000," and although revenues continue to be buoyant, particulail) fr®' n customs and sales tax, there is a l so e rising title of expenditure to be ta'en into consideration. It still remains to be seen whet e the Government intends to make use of anv of the wide financial power' which it took under the Reserve iian* Amendment Act earlier this jear.