HEAVY TAXES IN CANADA

Southland Times, Issue 24423, 1 May 1941, Page 8

HEAVY TAXES IN CANADA

SHARP INCREASE IN NEW BUDGET

IMPOST ON MOTION PICTURES (Rec. 8.15 p.m.) OTTAWA, April 29. “Canadians this year will have to forego still further the less essential civilian requirements in the interests of war production,” said the Minister of Finance, Mr J. L. Ilsley, introducing the Budget. Mr Ilsley said that two billion dollars were needed in the current fiscal year. New taxation should produce three hundred million dollars, and loans required would amount to one thousand million dollars. Provincial governments were asked to vacate their income and corporation tax yield for the duration of the war.

The corporation and income taxes have all been sharply increased. The national defence tax has been increased by 4 per cent, and the national income tax this year is expected to increase by 950,000,000 dollars. Increased taxes have been imposed on gifts, excess profits, automobiles, wines and other luxuries. A 20 per cent, tax has been imposed on motion picture entertainment and 5 per cent, on race-track betting. . , , , Last year taxation returns yielded 778,000,000 dollars, compared with 468,000,000 dollars for the previous year. Income tax increased by 50 per cent. The expenditure from the War Account was 816,000,000 dollars and the ordinary expenditure 383,000,000 dollars, of which 70 per cent, was interest on the Public Debt. The revenue reached the unprecedented total of 872,000,000 dollars and the overall deficit for the year was 395,000,000 dollars. Canada’s national debt on March 31 reached 3,666,000,000 dollars.