BRITISH COLUMBIA FINANCE

Hokitika Guardian, 16 May 1931, Page 6

BRITISH COLUMBIA FINANCE

UNIVERSAL INCOME TAX PROPOSED. VICTORIA, Canada. March 13. Under a Budget brought down in the British Columbia Legislature by Mr J. ' W. Jones, Minister of Finance for the Province, a new income tax of 1 per cent will he levied on the total income of all persons in the province, excepting only those who receive less than £2/10/per week, those receiving mother’s - pensions, old age pensions, war disability pensions and allowances, and those j whose income is derived from actual j farming. The levy, it is estimated, will produce £500,000 a year. It will ho imposed in addition to the ordinary and Federal income tax imposts. Mr Jones told the Legislature that British Columbia since the war has been living far beyond her income, pi 1- j ing up deficits and borrowing money to J pay running expenses, until the time had come when the financial structure must he rebuilt from the ground up. He said 67.7 per cent of the Government’s revenue went for expenditures over which it had no control, and thatincreased taxation was necessary to close the gap between exepndituros and : receipts. ( The Government’s plan is meeting > heavy fire, not only from the official < Liberal Opposition hut from Labour i bodies. However, in the Legislature the ' Conservatives under Premier S. F. Tolmie hold 35 seats out of 48, and their i will is likely to prevail. 1