Apr. 19.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, 'Mr, Neville Chamberlain, rove puno: ftuahiy at 8.80 in a hushed and erowd-Lord Snowden, the former September produced necessary economy and revi financial scheme universally acclaimed as a model of ney ere, sound and salutary finance, 'The' supplementary budget of September, he continued, had pro-alucod. £9,000,000 more than. Lord Snowden had anticipated but depreciation of capital values as well the longevity of millionaires, had caused a deficiency of £18,000,000 fu death duties. However, the budget had been saved by income tax and super-tax payers.
Other deficiencies the Chancellor enumerated included beer tax 250,000 and whisky. tax $1,000,000, ess, than anticipated in the budget.
'The past year, said. the Chancellor, had been one of anxiety and ifictity and hardship and it was only during the last few months that there' was some revival in trade and employment, This led to the hope that the worst was past.
He said his budget for the cur-vent year did not contain provision for "receipts of reparations interallied debts, nor provision for debt payments to America, all of. Which payments were in. suspense.
The future of war debts and reparations, he said, was dependent the results of the Lausanne con ference which would meet in June. The best course was to refrain from all conjectures and treat both sides of the account as being in suspense.
That did not imply, any fresh decision or policy. The government had decided" temporarily omit any estimate of receipts account of Dominion war debts, Which were suspended last, July. Fresh proposals would be submitted to Parliament when the outcome of the Lausanne Conference was Mr. Chamberlain said income tax had yielded £287,000,000 during the year and super-tax £76,000,000, Which was respectively, £15,000,000 and 24,000,000" more than he had anticipated.
During the coming year he anticipated a recovery of stamp and death duties but direct taxation would yield 82,500,000 less owing to the depression, He said. he expected the new per cent. import duties would yield 427,000,000 during the current year. We hoped to issue an order before the end of the week under the new Import Duties act imposing fresh duties, but no details would be issued in the meantime, Revenue from existing taxation during the current year he estimat-fed would yield £764,300,000 and expenditure he estimated at £766,000, 000, leaving a deficit of 1,700,000.
The Chancellor announced the! creation of an exchange equalisation account, for which he would ask Powers to borrow ' not exceeding £150,000,000, owing to. the exchange position caused by the influx of Reeumulations of capital: In.
Weeks. This did not represent genuine permanent improvement in the balance of trade and vas apt to" give rise to dangerous developments.
Th equal Britain to function effectively main international centre, which required her to hold adequate reserves of gold and fore ang in order to meet sudden withdrawals.
'There was. a look of disappoint: ment on many faces when Mr. Cham-Derlain' announced that income tax payers must carry their extra bur-iden another year. "There will be no reduction in income tax," he said. He urged employers to help their} yers to pay the tax by instalments.
There will be no change in beer tax, he also said. This was disappointing until he added that there would be new duties on tea. The new duty on foreign tea will ye fourpence per pound and on Empire grown tea twopence per pound.
There is ani increased preference of one shilling per cwt, on all Colon. fal sugars but duti on foreign and]|20 Dew inion sugar remain unchanged.
The excise duty on existing tea stocks would be twopence per pound with exemption for holdings not oxceeding a thousand: pounds.. The increased Imperial sugar preference would last for five years and also Jo further special "supplementary preference equal to one shilling 3 few. would be allocated by the Colonial Office among sugar rode ing colonies in proportion to their exports of sugar. These changes [would be operative from to-morrow. the Chancellor turned othe. gues The House listened eagerly when
tion of the gold standard. He said lowing to exchange—uncertain JBritain would not immediately return to the gold standard, exchange uncertainty precluded it." "We do Jnot know when nor in what cireumstances we might return to a gold standard nor at what level," he declared.
He estimated that the surplus on the new basis of taxation would be, £796,000 and-he announced that both sugar preferences were liable to adjustment if during the five years in which they operated the Sterling wholesale price of foreign sugar extended 7s. 9d. a cwt.
Mr. Chamberlain referred to the interim report of the Tariff Advisory Committee, set up under the new tariff act, containing a number Jof recommendations for. additional duties. The details of these he said. would' be published later in the! week. He estimated that revenue from these recommended duties fez purposes of the wou!
£5,000,000.
'The Chancellor estimated that with. various changes the budzat Should' show' surplus' of £796,000 the end of the pear.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.