WELCOME NEWS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 131, 18 July 1941, Page 4

WELCOME NEWS

THERE will be no increase in the rate of taxation for the prosecution of the war! This announcement made in the House last Wednesday evening by the Minister of Finance, ■the Hon. Waller Nash, will meet with widespread relief. Curtailment of the expenditure in certain directions has enabled increases in others, notably the maternity, age, and invalids benefits. The sum of £600,000 has been set aside to meet the cost of medical services if an agreement is reached with the doctors. While admitting that it was impossible to arrive at estimates of war expenses with anv degree of accuracy, provision has been made for a total of £69,700,000, including £5,600,000 repayment to the United Kingdom Government. This estimate is arrived, at as follows: —Navy £4,200,000; Army £50,'000,000; Air £9,900,000; debt repayment (United Kingdom Government) £5,600,000. Last year's surplus of £1,726,000 will be transferred from the Consolidated Account to the War Expenses Account, and it is proposed to transfer a further £1,500,000 during the present financial year. Increased expenditure includes the payment of one shilling a day domestic allowance to the families of all soldiers where there are children. Provision has been made for the payment of all wages and allowances of soldiers for three, months after they are reported killed or missing. As an alternative to increasing the rates of taxation, an internal loan of £10,000,000 will be raised.. A prospectus to raise this sum will be issued on August 1 for a 2£ per cent war loan maturing August 1. 1946., and a 3 per cent war loan maturing August 1, 1954, the Government having the right, however, to redeem the latter on giving three months' notice, on or after August 1, 1951. To the extent that the whole of this amount is not required to meet commitments in New Zealand it will be used to meet overseas war costs. To make way for these war loans, the National Development loan has now been withdrawn. It is anticipated that at least £3,000,000 will be raised during the year by National Savings accounts and bonds. Summarised,, the financial statement shows : —That in spite of'the withdrawal of large numbers of men for war purposes, production during the latest year for which figures are available, has increased. That the previous excess of withdrawals from the Post Office Savings Bank Account has given place to an excess of deposits amounting to £3,854,000, with the amounts. standing to the credit of depositors in the Post Office Savings Bank on May 31 the record sum of £63,000,000. That export values reached the record total of £71,200,000 and that the favourable balance of trade available for interest payments, d'ebt reduction and other charges was the record amount of £23,300,000. From the above the position appears broadly to be more satisfactory than was anticipated and the country will further welcome the Minister's statement on. the future policy to be followed which reads: "The objectives of the Government at the present time can be summarised, under three main headings. The paramount and growing necessity of meeting war needs in men, materials and financial resources; the need to keep the everyday economic life of the community functioning to the fullest extent possible; and the need, after meeting these commitments to maintain living standards at the highest level possible after we have contributed supplies and done all, that csn be done to help win the present conflict."