“SOAKING THE RICH”

Wairarapa Times-Age, 26 May 1939, Page 6

“SOAKING THE RICH”

LIMITS TO THE PROCESS IN BRITAIN I CHANCELLOR AND LABOUR CRITICS. CONSERVATION OF SOURCES OF REVENUE. By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright. (Received This Day, 12.15 p.m.) LONDON, May 25. “The country cannot raise the vast sums it is now spending yearly by the process known as “soaking the rich," said Sir John Simon in the House of Commons, when replying to Labour criticism that wealth was not sufficiently contributing to emergency expenditure. He added that the present death duties were tremendously high and an additional yearly levy would reduce the size of estates and destroy the sources of future taxation. The phrase “conscription of wealth” was misleading, for in taxation everybody was a conscript. There could be no conscientious objectors. The effect of loss of confidence in the past year was clearly shown in the income tax returns, which had not reached the figure he expected. The present Budget proposals were framed to prevent the undermining of any growing confidence. Taxation must not be increased to the extent of throwing everybody into gloom.