Mr. Churchill said that the nom-Snul deadweight of debt on April 1L_was £7.527,000,000 compared with £7,544,000,000 Nast. year, The Ex-Aernal Debt had been vedueed to Budget, Twelve months would be required for the new valuation which would achieve derating. Mr. Churchill added that £4,239,000, the realized surplus on last year's Budget, would be appropriated towards financing the rating scheme instead of going into the Sinking Fund.
The Chancellor announced that a tax of 4d. a gallon would be imposed, from April 25, on imported petrol and other forms of motorcar spirits, kerosene, white spi and turpentine, but heavy oil known as fud-oil, Diesel-oil and kas-oil would not be taxed, estimated this would produce £14,- (000,000 this year and £18,000,000 in a full financial year, For rate relief all forms of home-oil production would be free of any countervailing Excise Duty.
The sugar duties, Mr. Churchill went on, would be reduced from April 25' so as to enable a retail price reduction of a farthing per Th, The reduction would cost £2, 200,000 this year,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.