THE CHINA MAIL, APRIL 26, 1989.
FOUR
MILLION
POUNDS A DAY BUDGET Defence Outlay Jumps Further £50,000,000 Shock For Motorists: No Income Tax Increase
London, To-day.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir John Simon, presented his second and, as the Chancellor himself described it, stupendous, Budget in the House of Commons yesterday afternoon.
Total Budget figures amount to the terrific sum of £1,285,000,000. Revenue is estimated at £942,500,000 but to this will be added the amounts met by borrowing, estimated at £342,500,000.
This is part of the sum to be spent on defence, already increased to £630,- 000,000 and does not take into consideration any additional amounts which may be authorised by supplementary estimates. Sir John Simon caused widespread relief by not an-
nouncing any increase in income tax. ever, he shocked with announcement of Increase of the motor-car tax from 15/- to 25/- per (General cheers).
horse-power,
HUGE BRITISH- PURCHASE OF WHALE OIL
8.5
Oslo, To-day. British buyers purchased much as 58,000 tons of whale oil, the entire supply left over from last season.
The price paid was £15 per ton and cash payment made.
Interested circles connect the transaction with British efforts to store large reserves of foodstuffs and raw materials for emergen- cies.-Trans-Ocean,
9/4d per cwt.
The new rates involve an addi- tional 2/4d per cwt.
Empire preference duty would How-size and effort that has to be made
excise duty on and which measures the whole coun-be preserved and
to make it." home grown try's determination
sugar adjusted to maintain the existing margin of advantage.
Excise duty on popular roll films and plates, Increases in the surtax and estate and death
duties,
Another 2/- per lb. on tobacco, and
NOT JUSTIFIED Sir John said it would be easy to
The House agreed to the tobacco
add to the loan figure, but he did and films resolutions.--Reuter, not think this simple solution was justified.
If there was a limit to what was conveniently and tolerably raised by taxation, there was also a limit to what could wisely be raised by borrowing.
ex-
SOCIAL SERVICES Omitting defence supplementaries (says British Wireless) total penditure from revenue for which An increase on sugar of a farthing per lb.
this year's he had to provide in Budget added up to £922,444,000. The Chancellor announced a, be met by loan, and there must be
The fact such large sums had to small amelioration in the aboli-additional taxation.
Heavy as was the burden of taxa-
not The sum of £24,000,000 of tion of the medicine stamp duty
the tion upon all, the country was rous-be provided for defence had
should and a reduction in theatre enter- difference would be met out of re-ed to the necessity for further sacri- meant that social services
be reduced. Cost of social services tainment duties.
The taxpayers therefore fices.
A whole Sir John explained that defence would find £942,000,000 and £380,-
In the long run, it would not be and civil expenditure as expenditure last year from revenue | 000,000 would be by borrowing.
in the country's interest light-hear-was increasing. Total growth since bor- Sir John announced the abolition tedly to attempt to throw the addi-1925 of civil expenditure from taxes wag £254,500,000. They had rowed £128,000,000, making a total of the medicine stamp duty and re- tional sum wholly into the borrow-alone might be put at £180,000,000. de-duction in the theatre entertain- ing scale, and consequently he pro- In the same period the sum col- of £382,500,000 for the three
ment duties.--
posed additional taxation of appro-lected from local rates had increas- fence departments.
ed from £168,000,000 to a sum esti- ximately £24,000,000.
mated at £210,000,000,000.
EXPECTATIONS
raid With food storage and air precautions, the gross total was al- most exactly £400,000,000.
Supplementary expenditure for defence was the most serious and important question, and the car. dinal issue in the present budget. FOOD RESERVES
the
was
Estimated expenditure for supply services was £675,000,000,
Total estimated expenditure for air raids precautions services £42,000,000, of which £37,000,- 000 would be borrowed.
Estimated expenditure on food reserves was $5,000,000.
venue.
EXCISE ON FILMS
He announced an excise duty on in films and plates manufactured Britain equivalent to 2d on popular roll films, giving an estimated re- venue of £800,000 this year and £1,000,000 in a full year.
TRADE AGREEMENTS Legislation would be required on the certain points arising out of trade agreements with the United States and India, and he would have to table resolutions implementing Sir John declared there would be certain provisions of the American no increase in the income tax stan-Trade Agreement, and in the case dard rate, the announcement being received with cheers.
ceased
The cheers when the Chancellor an- nounced that the motor
of the Indian Trade Agreement, to bring the new agreement within the framework of the Ottawa Agree- ments Act.
Sir John explained that repeal of the medicine stamp duties and the relief to theatres by reducing the
Total expenditure provided from car tax should be increas-tax by a penny per admission, would revenue was £922,000,000 apart from ed from 15/- to 25/- per coat about $1,000,000. defence supplementary expenditure.
SOCIAL SERVICES Dealing with social services and John said home expenditure, Sir that new internal projects calling for major additions in expenditure were not at present possible.
Dealing with revenue prospects, Sir John said he had estimated the various yields on the existing basis of taxation.
Total estimated expenditure on the existing basis of taxation $918,000,000.
was
was
MIGHT BE MORE The sum of £223,000,000 available towards meeting this year's defence expenditure compar- ed with the original figures of £580,- 000,000 for defence this year £800,000,000 from loan and £230,- 0000,000 from revenue had risen to the region of £680,000,000 for defence in all its aspects and might well be more.
The whole difference should not
horse-power from Jan- uary next.
INCOME TAX. Dealing with income tax, Sir John said the present rate was Bd of the highest figure in the War.
The House also reacted to announcement Chancellor's changes in surtax and estate du- ties.
HIGHER SURTAX
to 11/6d a lb.
within the
of They had been doing all they could to encourage a measure of confidence in business, and there were grounds for expecting a fur ther business recovery if there was no setback,
As regards surtax, a surcharge of a further five per cent. on incomes up to £8,000 and a further 10 per
Therefore he had avoided any cent. over £8,000 would be payable. measure which would have a gen- The tobacco duty would be rais-erally depressing effect on indus- ed from to-day,Wednesday) by 2/-try, even if the effect on industry was largely a matter of psycho- Sugar duty would be increased logy. by one farthing a lb, from yester- day. ⠀
- Sir John's announcement on car Sir John indicated there would be tax increases surprised the House, a death duty of 10 per cent. on es- and there was general conversa tates over £50,000.
tion among members who were ob-, Total estimated revenue on theviously working out the increase basis of taxation was £942,600.000. in their own car taxes.
.
SURPRISE FOR HOUSE
Sir John referred to £630,000,000 | Explaining the sugar duty, Sir required for defence as this stup-| John said the present duty on for- endous figure which measures the leign raw sugar was equivalent to
|
Dealing with revenue prospects, Sir John Simon said he thought it prudent to put customs and excise about revenue at £338,000,000, or £2,500,000 below last year's receipts income tax at £327,000,000 £9,000,- 000 less than actual receipts for 1938-surtax at £66,000,000–£3,- 000,000 more than last year-death duties at $77,000,000 and stamp duties £21,000,000, both the same an last year-national defence contri- bution in £25 million which was & full year's yield for the first time.
Private Morgan, of the Middlesex Regiment, was treated in the Mili- tary Hospital, after he had been bitten by a dog yesterday.
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