IMPOSED IN NEW ZEALAND WAR BUDGET

Wairarapa Times-Age, 28 June 1940, Page 5

IMPOSED IN NEW ZEALAND WAR BUDGET

Heavy Additional Call on Incomes TOGETHER WITH' NATIONAL SECURITY TAX OF SHILLING IN THE POUND AMOUNT OF THE SALES TAX DOUBLED (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. Although it makes unprecedented demands, imposing upwards of £14,000,000 of taxation for war purposes on top ot all ordinary taxation, New Zealand’s first Avar Budget uas received calmly when it. was presented by the Minister of Finance (Mr Nash) in the House of Representatives last, evening. The Budget was one of the shortest on. record. The finance Minister began reading it at 7.38 p.m. and finished less than an hour later. Opposition members, while they did not go to the length of crying “not enough,” as did members of the House of Commons some time ago, maintained a cheerful attitude throughout, and an atmosphere almost of jocularity pievailed later when the resolution doubling the sales tax was being discussed. The only member who appeared to entertain serious doubts as to the wisdom of this course was Mr Lee (Demociatic Labour, Grey Lynn), who nevertheless seemed to gam some comfort from the fact that he is now excluded from the Labour caucus which be described, in reply to an interjection, as the unholy of unholies.” When the House rose just before 9 o’clock, the Prime Minister, Mr Fraser, announced that the debate on the Budget would be opened when Parliament resumed next Tuesday evening.