RECORD PEACETIME BUDGET

Chronicle (Levin), 11 January 1949, Page 5

RECORD PEACETIME BUDGET

(N.Z.P.A.-

-Reuter*

Huge Sum For Defence And Foreign Aid Truman's Request To Congress

Covyright )

*/" Received Tuesday, 9.40 a.m. WASHINGTON, January 10. President Truman today asked Congress to provide him with 21,000,000,000 dollars for the foreign aid and national defence programmes in the fiscal year ending June 30, 1950. These two items constitute half of the expenditure allowed for in ihe record peacetime Budget.

Income is estimated at 40,985,000,000 dollars and expenditure at 41,858,000,000, a deficit of 873,000,000 dollars. The national debt is 25 1,925, 000, 000 dollars. The figures lur Ihe current fiscal year are: Income, 39,580,000,000 dollars; delic.it, 000,000,000 dollars'; national dt'bl. 251,569,000,000 dollars. Presidenl Truman made it clear inal. later this year he would ask' ! i.i ;■ substantial funds to give mili-l tary assistance to members of the,North Aciantic Military Alliance ;« i d certaln other countries. He; .:id he would recommend new| e.t-neral tax legislation to raisej rcvemies by 4,000,000,000 dollars. j Mo estimate of receipts from the i nc v ! axes are included in today's budget, but they are expected to j provide about 2,000,000,000 dollars' ,'or the part of the year that they

are. effective. This additional revenue could be used to finance the military aid programmes if none of it was used for debt retirement or reducing the deficit. By far the largest item in the Budget is that for national defence expenditure, whereon the estimated total is 14,300,000,000 dollars, compared with 11,800,000,000 for the current year. Regarding expenditure in the succeeding year ending June 30, 1951, President Truman stated: "Defence expenditures to maintain the present programme are expected to be higher in 1951 as a result of the expanding programmes now under way and the larger orders already placed for aircraft, ships and other material and equipment, which will be delivered and paid for in the next few vears."