BUDGET IN THREE WEEKS

Taranaki Daily News, 31 August 1935, Page 9

BUDGET IN THREE WEEKS

TASK FACED BY MINISTER DEMANDS FOB TAXATION BELIEF. I NO DECISION YET POSSIBLE. EXPENDITURE ALSO WANTED. (By Wire— Parliamentary Reporter.) ' Wellington; Last Night. The Minister of Finance,, the .Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, hopes to have the Budget ready for ■ presentation to the House within three weeks. At present he is spending all available time ■in conference with the Treasury and departmental officials, and it will probably be some time before' he and the -Cabinet are prepared to place their. general proposals before the country. ’ Many demands are being made on the Minister for taxation reductions, particularly on income, company and sales tax, and for various forms of increased expenditure, but the task of adjusting the claims to meet the case cannot be completed in a day. Members of the Government party naturally hold their own views on just what financial arrangements should be made for the coming year, but the general opinion within the 'party is that the matter is in very capable hands and that Mr. Coates should not be urged to undertake anything that might smack of reckless finance. All speculation at the moment on what are likely to be the Budget’s main provisions is totally unfounded. Much has been said of a Civil Service salary restoration, of a reduction in unemployment taxation and of the abolition of the sales tax, but it will be some time before Mr. Coates and the Government can reach a decision on a Budget which will be expected at once to please the people and ensure continued financial stability.