BRITISH BUDGET

Hokitika Guardian, 27 April 1933, Page 5

BRITISH BUDGET

THE CHIEF POINTS

A DEFICIT OF £32,000,000.

(United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright.)

LONDON, April 25

In the Commons, the main points of Mr Chamberlain’s budget speech were as follow ;

The result of the year was a deficit of £52,000,000, which will be met by borrowing. In face of the present strain this relatively small deficit is as satisfying as surpluses in more prosperous times.

1 Excluding -th e American debt payment, there was a surplus of £11,250.000 of current revenue over, current expenditure. Beer revenu e , was £6,000,000 below the estimate, the lowest yield for thirteen years.

Twelve thousand persons -liabl e to (surtax in 1931 were not l ] abl e in 1932

The Irish Free State duties yielded £2,500,000, and the Ottawa duties £1,750,000. He did net propos e to provide either for debt payment to America nor receipts from other countries, The year’s saving in interest was £22,000,000. The real saving to-day, compared with two years ago, waa £113,000,000, Big drops m personal income were shown. The surtax yielded £11,000,000 below the estimate. Income tax was £8,000,000 below. The Exchange Equalisation Fund stood the test of experience, keeping the exchange steady.

The estimated total of revenue in 1933-34 on the present basis of taxation was £712,750,000. It had ' beerf decided before Almerica went off gold, tnat it would be necessary to increase ’the Exchange Equalisation Fund. He realised that America’s action was i n nowise related to the .conversations with other countries, but wag prompted by purely internal considerations.

There Hvill be 'a- (substantial increase in -taxation on heavy road vehicles, and of a penny & gallon on -fuel gas and lubricating oils. The Chancellor is making no provision for redemption of debt. The beer duty will be reduced by SNs a. barrel effecting a. reduction in the retail price of a penny a pint. iHe said that he had been advised to reduce taxation, even at the risk of not balancing the budget. This seemed to him not in the best interest of .the country. A shilling off the income tax would cost £50,000.000. “Unbalanced budgets " Ui'A thg rule rather than the exception throughout the world, yet with world trade- falling land prices shrinking, an unbaL anc@d budget would not reverse oui* ilk.”

Thy income tax .rale will be bnckngoiL Tiie Chancellor added that the United States shared our desire for intw. national co-operation, and though recent events involved -anxiety, he was hoping that Mr 'Roosevelt’s further proposals will promote renewed confidence,

THE CHANCELLOR’S SPEECH.

SEVERAL BRIGHT FEATURES

RUGBY, April 25.

In the crowded Commons, the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr (Neville Chamberlain) presented his annual budget statement. The Chancellor said that the expenditure last year was £777,000,000 and revenue was £745,000,000. The deficit of £32,000,000 would .be met by borrowing. But fox war debt payment of ‘£29,000,000 to tlie Unitea States, for •which no provision bad been made in the budget, the deficit would have been £3,300,000.

That .result, achieved in the teeth of so many difficulties, should give more 'solid, sa-tisfacton than contemplation of surpluses earned in more prosperous times. He compared the present prices of Government securities with those of a year ago and maintained that the immense financial benefits would not have been secured if the Government had not insisted on a balanced budget. Despite the shrinkage, international trade continued on a high level of offipLoyment. The purchasing and saving power of the people ill Britain has been maintained to a very remarkable degree, and Post Office deposits rose by over £16,000,000 and trustee Savings Bank business by £1,750,000.