A sign of relief has burst forth on all sides at the considerable cut the Federal Treasurer is making in income tax and land taxation.
The Budget is a complete success, it shows a surplus of 2,635,507, which, added to the surplus of 285,807 for the year 1926-26, makes an accumulated surplus of 42,921,404, Of this sum, $2,000,000)
ear-marked for naval construction and n reserve for defence. Civil aviation gets £200,000; education of Idiers' children £100,000; purchase! of radium, £100,000; and prospeeting for all in' Papua nnd New Guinea £70,000. The rest of the money is divided between pensions, science and the National Inburance: Fund, The income and Jand taxa tion have been reduced another 10 per cent., which brings the Federal taxation' operating in these two quarters to the level of the first Hederal tax imposed in the year Since the year 1920-21 there has been a steady decrease, in thes: taxations and, as it evidently has Become a habit, the taxpayer may Week forward with confidence the next Budget and expect another! yedvetion which will wipe out this! arm of taxation altogether and the field open to the State ment. In striking contrast federal Budget is that of victorian State Government, hich proposes to increase the income tax owing to the financial strets with which the State One Item Which Hurts It is impossible to find any Treasurer who can bring forward his Budget and say with confidence that everybody will be satisfied.
imply not done. Back comes the old proposal of taxation upon chassis and tyres which was withdrawn last year after _almost record demonstrations against it. This time the proposal is met with certain diffidence,. but not wholly antagonistic attitude. In ex-Dlaining the proposal, Mr. Pratten pointed out that the Goverftment intended to collect duties on petrol, rubber tyres and chassis to. the Amount of 1,500,000, this being mired to meet the rants, Owing to apposition from some of the Premiers of the States, the proposal Jast year had to be withdrawn, Now that all the Premiers are agreeable, the Federal Government haa to: raise something like £500,000 more than the previous year. The new elapse read: (4) Chassis, but not Including rubber tyres or storage Batteries (a) unassembled, pulorem, British preferent Antermediate, 123 per cent.; general A7h per cent; (b). assembled, ud (valorem, British preference, 5 per cent.; intermediate tariff, 20 per cent.; general tariff, 25 per cent.
'The Minister, in further explaining the new duties, stated that the Government hoped' the increase in Jduties under the " foreign tant would result in a certain amount of trade now going to the United States swinging over to Britain. He hoped it would be a further step towards realising the inter-Imperial economic development.. That the new tariff will, after a few months [of operation, prove more acceptable {to the great majority of the peopl fof Australia appears certain in view of recent developments in this There has been formed a League called the Pendulum League, the aim of which is to buy no more foreign goods until the balance of trade once and for all has swang in favour of the Empire. At the head of this organization is the old leader of the troops in France, General Sir John Monash. The League steadily is gro now a new movement menced and this not from the Nationalist ranks but from the ranks of the Labour party.
This party, determined to advance] the interests of their own country, are organizing the housewives and their mien to buy nothing wherever possible but goods made Australia, The movement is spreading rapidly, and, where, but a few! years ago, and also before the war, the Australian ought goods. fro overseas because his own country's} manufactures were—to his way of thinking—totally crude compared with the other, he to-day desires to] know the home of manufacture.
The highest priced article not to him the best. He thinks more of the employment the buying of " home-made article may mean to his next-door neigh-hour or the man across the strent.
All this training is the result of continual propaganda upon the part lof some active and progressive Nationalists and the solid backbone section of the Australian Labour Par Mr. Hughes, our war-time Prime Minister, in' a recent speech Sydney, declared that he had fear of the Red movement ever foaming control of the true Labour] party. He defied them to commence a revolution and declared that, if {hey did, it would be the fnisk of
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.