CANADIAN BUDGET

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24951, 25 June 1942, Page 5

CANADIAN BUDGET

HUGE WAR EXPENDITURE MINISTER'S STATEMENT (Rec. 0.30 a.m.) OTTAWA, June 23. , " Canada raised by tax 50 per cent, of her huge war expenditure in the last fiscal year," said Mr J. L. Ilsley, the Minister of Finance, in his Budget speech in the House of Commons. "It would have been 78 per cent, if the financing of British purchases in Canada had not been included. The aggregate expenditure for the year ended March was 1,894,966,000 dollars, the revenue 1,481,285,000 dollars, the deficit 413,681.000 dollars, war expenditure 1,351,533,000 dollars. The net debt is now 4,062,372,000 dollars, and the-outstanding unmatured funded debt is 5,866,071,000 dollars, on which the average interest rate is 2.9 per cent. The year's borrowing totalled 1,834,000,000 dollars. The war programme is great and growing, the size and effectiveness of the programmes of the United Nations is every day becoming more closely knit in mutual aid, yet it is bitterly plain that we have far to go before victory is in sight. " The total exports were 50 per cent, above the .previous year,, general employment increased by 22 per cent., the retail sales increased by 20 per cent., and were over 50 per cent, above the pre-war level. The average earnings of all employees increased by 8 per cent, since last October, when wage and price control was introduced. The United States exchange position has improved, but relaxation of travel restrictions and exphange control is impracticable. The restrictions on civilian industry to save materials and manpower will multiply."