"‘NOT SO BAD”

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 607, 8 March 1929, Page 9

"‘NOT SO BAD”

Finances of Britain Discussed MILD OPTIMISM British Official Wireless RUGBY, Thursday. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Churchill, yesterday received a deputation representing the Association of British Chambers of Commerce. It. is customary for the Chancellor to receive a deputation of the kind before the preparation of his Budget to enable the representatives of commerce to place their views before him on financial questions. The deputation expressed gratitude to the Government for the derating scheme, which members said they believed would be of great assistance to the producers and the manufacturers. They emphasised the need for tax remission and advocated the introduction of penny postage. Mr. Churchill, in replying, undertook to give consideration to the representations made. Referring to the outlook in regard to revenue, he remarked that they started the calendar in January, as usual, with a very heavy deficit of more than £130,000,000. That was due to the fact that expenditure flows out evenly over the entire year, but the great bulk of revenue comes to hand in the last quarter. That deficit already had been reduced by £100,000,000, and was only just over £30,000,000, with three and a-half weeks of the financial year still to go.

Mr. Churchill said lie was engaged at present in surveying samples of the estimated profits for 1926 on which the forecast of the amount of income tax for next year was based. These samples numbered many thousands, and it was on them that extremely accurate forecasts were based. He would not have the results for another fortnight, but he had a feeling that things would not be so bad for Britain provided that no violent dislocation or disturbance occurred in her affairs.