War-time financial problems

130 COMPARATIVE WAR FINANCE

expected to add over £1600 millions to the country's
debt, and actually added nearly £2000 millions.
For the present year he anticipates an expenditure
of £2972 millions, and he is imposing fresh taxation
which will realise £68 millions in the current year
and £ti4i millions in a full year. On the basis of
taxation at which it stood last year he estimates
for an increase of £67 millions, income tax and super-
tax on the old basis being expected to bring in
£28 millions more, and excess profits duty £80
millions more, against which decreases were esti-
mated at £3! millions in Excise and £37 millions in
miscellaneous. He thus expects to get a total
increase on the last year's figures of £135 millions,
making for the current year a total revenue of £842
millions, and leaving a total deficit of £2130 millions
to be provided by borrowing. Increases in taxation
on spirits, beer, tobacco, and sugar bring in a total
of nearly £41 millions. An increase of a penny in
the stamp duty on cheques is estimated to bring in
£750,000 this year and a million in a full year, and
the increases in the income tax and the super-tax
will bring in £23 millions in the present year and £61
millions in a full year. Increases in postal charges
will bring in £3! millions this year and £4 millions
in a full year.

There has been little serious criticism of these
changes in taxation except that many people, who
seem to regard the penny post as a kind of fetish,
have expressed regret that the postal rate of the
letter should be raised to i|^. This addition seems
to me to be merely an inadequate recognition of the