FURTHER BORROWING.

Taranaki Daily News, 9 October 1917, Page 4

FURTHER BORROWING.

ANOTHER FOUR MILLIONS REQUIRED. INCREASED TAXATION. By Wire.—Our Parliamentary ficportcr. Wellington. Lust Night. It is now practically certain that the Government will ask Parliament to authorise the borrowing of an extra four million during the current financial year to cover the. increased Defence expenditure, additions to allowances, and other, items. This increased borrowing, in conjunction with an important decline in railway revenue, and the anticipated reduction in liquor revenue, will necessitate increases in taxation. Just what form the increases will take remains to be seen, but there is ground for anticipating the lowering of the income tax exemption. Sir Joseph Ward has called a caucus of the Liberal members, in orjjerto plate the financial position before' tfigm, and it is reported there may be some interesting developments from this meeting. CUTTING DOWN THE PUBLIC SERVICE. "The Government has no intention of cutting down salaries in the public service," said Mr. Massey, to-night. "We have no intention of putting any such proposal before Parliament, but it is possible we may find it necessary to ask Parliament to cut down the public service; which is quite a different thing,"