Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, SATURDAY, MAY 1,1909 MR. LLOYD GEORGE'S BUDGET.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11840, 1 May 1909, Page 4

Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, SATURDAY, MAY 1, 1909 MR. LLOYD GEORGE' S BUDGET.

The Budget that, rill Britain lias been waiting anxiously for for weeks li&s been delivered, and has been received M-ith a storm of varying , .comment.. It ia described by one of the Liberal.-papers as a bold budget, and .'whilst the appellation tits tho determined effort that. in pnade by the Mm'stiy to meet a great national deficiency .by taxation mainly upon the wealthy section- of the population, the boldness is of a more Or less negative cliarafcter, in • that * the Govern-: ment stubbornly- eet their facjes against the advancing 'cause of taritt' refortn. Tlie susi*cnsiou of payment, of -five millions to tt}e i sinking fund is tin .► easy method that has frequently been taken in the past of making up a- deficiency in the national Hn'ance. and can hardly be dioscribed as ii bold move,/ but on the other hand the. Government have shown courage in their taxation proposals, which include a-graduated and a supertax on incomes, the levying or substan-; tial; dues on motor '»*«. .','"- the taxation of land and mining royalties, as well as an increase in the spirit and tobacco duties. There are several ; in the proposals avhich will doubtless strike the eyes of New 'Zealand reformers, as for instance the taking of 10 per cent, of the unearned increment, of land, payjab le at death, and" when la^id is sold, whicli it Tpay be argued _is a fair proposition seeing how land is bfepefited by public expenditure on roads, ,. railways, etc. It is tihe betterment; system in another form. Taxation of motor vehicles w.as proposed some, -time ago iii NeAv Zealand, but raised such a storm of protest that it was dropped, aiid it will be' interesting to see how Mr Llbyd George's proppsal fares in a country that has adopted the new fbrin of locomotion to such, a veryi great extent foi- pleasure and for industry . A fine feature of the Budget is. the proposal, in connection with the iucome tax, that taxpayers shall be granted an aj>ate^ ment of £10 per child for children under 16 years of uge. The Budget will be regarded! by many as class legisla-taon of the worst type. Ry raises the question whether tlie wealthy leisured* classes of Britain ahd the people with broad acres and vast rent rolls and royalties are contributing their fair share to the national revenue. Upon this point some interesting comparisons made by Mr Chiozza Money, the eminent financier* are Quoted in another column. Taxation of the wealthy will of course be popular tvith the masses, but whether it will be an ekectiial remedy for the ills which afflict the nation we have grave reason ,to doubt.. The Government are shirking 'ihe |riaih( causd; 6f prwent ,unemi>Joy^ tiient andy distress, which undoubtedly is 'the freet^ade .policy of the ooiuitry. So long as England continues to give the foreigner free acoess to her , markets whilst foreign, markets are bolted 7 and barred, dgiinst English „ maiva.ac^;-*i*n so long Will, the., Chancel lor "f ty ICs chequer be face to face wi<h virini?eh-;y iii ''I'd*, finance and the whole- country he under the runioiia influences of industrial depression, y .