WAR LOAN CONTRIBUTIONS

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 92, 15 October 1940, Page 8

WAR LOAN CONTRIBUTIONS

(To the Editor.)

Sir—May I through your columns register an appeal to the Minister of Finance and to the Government for an immediate pronouncement on the matter of an extension of the closing date for "voluntary" contributions to the war loan? The obligation now imposed on business people has probably hit the commercial community harder than anything has done in the past, and people now realise the warning of "withdrawing money from industry" which has been previously proclaimed in your editorial columns. The plain fact, Sir, is that people's income tax is being doubled this year, and it takes some reorganisation to meet this obligation. The fact that 80 per cent, of the amount will be found by the banks, to be repaid next year by business firms, is merely postponing the, evil day—and an evil day which will be worse if excess profits are made by ( firms —for it is 60 per cent, of the ex- i cess profits that must be paid "after j other taxation has been paid"; that is, j 60 per cent, of the 7s lid which will be left after the 12s Id is paid (assuming there is no increase in income tax next year!). The evil day of next year will thus be (1) payment, of income tax, (2) repayment of amount borrowed for this year's war loan contribution, and (3) excess profits tax. Since the war loan is a "voluntary-corn- ! pulsory" one, it seems unfair to literally create a stampede in commercial circles in order to achieve such a lot in such little time. People do not mind mortgaging their all to help win the war, but surely a little more time could be given for considerations necessary to the essential readjustments. —I am, etc., SUPPLIANT.