THE AUSTRALIAN BUDGET.

Taranaki Daily News, 5 July 1930, Page 8

THE AUSTRALIAN BUDGET.

Admitting that the lot of a Treasurer who must budget for a deficiency of £12,000,000 is no easy one, the proposals of thb Australian Government seem drastic in the extreme. An increase of 10 per cent, in income tax on all taxable incomes and 15 per cent, on all incomes over £350 a year is calculated to bring home to many the , parlous state of the national finance. The unfortunate aspect of the proposals is that they seem certain to inflict a heavy burden on those who already have as much as they can safely cany. It is the professional and salaried wageearner who will most feel the ellect o the heavier income taxes, and lie is already called upon to bear the heaviest portion of that impost. There are proposals for reducing the emoluments of civil servants by such methods as compulsory leave without pay and by workin" longer hours at the same salary. The curious thing is that the Government should prefer this roundabout method to a straight out cut in salaries, which would seem fairest to all concerned, especially if it begins with members of Parliament themselves.. Iho truth is that the trail of the politician lies plain in all the devices for meeting a national emergency. The Labour Ministry docs not attempt to bring down wages, and with that action io. duce the cost of living. It prefers to tax those who are not, generally speaking, Labour stalwarts, and it is doing nothing to induce organised Labour to take its share of the sacrifices Australia

must make if the deficit is to be overcome. The people in this country may note the result of putting Labour into power. The Australian Labour Prime Minister was fervid in his appeal to other political parties to fcreat the financial problem as a national difficulty and not as a party question. He had no reason to complain of the response to his appeal, but when the Government's proposals- were known it was obvious that they were “class” legislation of an extreme type. Labour leaders in New Zealand are eloquent in their promises to do away with financial worries without inflicting hardship on any section of the community. Had they the power it seems fairly certain the experience of Australia would be repeated here.