Berlin, Feb. 11, The Reichstag to-day began the first reading of the 1926 Budget, which balances 7,400,000,000 marks. The Minister of Finance, Herr Reinhold, outlined the Gov-fernment's programme. He said. there were 2,100 bankruptcies last: month, and approximately 2,000,000 unemployed.
The chief causes of the crisis were. Inck of capital and excessive taxation.
Various economies would be effected, and henceforth extraordinary. expenditure would be covered by loans. A bill would be introduced to reduce the present 1 per cent. turnover tax to 0.6, and the Companies Fusion Tax from two to one per cent.—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.