Review of Hevieicg, 1/6/06. 



Leading Articles. 



483 



MR. KEIR HARDIES LABOUR BUDGET. 



In the Financial Review of Reviews Mr. Keir 

 Hardie answers the plaintive cry of the Chancellor 

 of the Exchequer when approached on projects of 

 social reform, " Where's the money to come from?" 

 His proposals are by no means so revo'.utionar)- as 

 alarmists might have supposed. The problems 

 which he sets himself to solve are : — 



First, how to raise 20 millions additional yearly; and 

 secondly, how to adjust the Budget so as to abolish the 

 breakfast table duties and the coal tax; pay for all edu- 

 cation and the poor from Imperial tunds; provide Old 

 Age Pensions ajid one or two otJier reforms. 



He would introduce a new principle into British 

 income tax, the principle of taxing incomes derived 

 from investments, land and property of all sorts on 

 a higher scale than those derived from personal 

 exertion. He suggests is. 6d. for the former, to be 

 collected at the source, as at present; and is., as 

 at present, for the latter. He would exempt from 

 the additional tax those with incomes below ;^5oo 

 on the whole of their income; below ^£700, on 

 jQs°° of their incohie; below ^"locxj, on ^500 of 

 their income. He would at the same time readjust 

 the Death Duties on a graduated scale. He puts 

 his scheme in a convenient table : — 



TABLE 8H0WI.NG PROPOSED NKW TAXATION. 



Imcomes 



I.eavine the possessor £9,400.000, above which the State 

 would take all further estate to itself 



I 



The theory of tlie^e proposals is that the State should 

 the aggregate during the whole of the man's life as income 



Income in 

 thousands 

 of pounds 



1— 2 



2- 3 

 3—4 

 4—5 

 5- 6 

 6—8 

 8—10 



10—12 

 12—16 

 16—20 

 20-24 

 24—28 

 28—32 

 32—36 

 36—40 

 40-60 

 50-60 

 60—70 

 70-80 

 80—90 



Present 



Income 



Tax. 



t«3 



=^5 



Proposed, 



Taxes levied 

 at the 

 source. 



-i 



Additional 

 Taxes levied 



direct. 



and so on ^ 



up to o 



800 



Leaving the possessor a net income of about. t.M0,00O, 

 above which the State would take all further income to 

 itself. 



take at one step, at death, about as much as it takes in 

 tax on his unearned income. 



He estimates the yield of the additional taxation as follows: — 



„ .. ..... , ,. . . Millions. 



r rnni the additional 6a. on unearned incomes 10 



From increased graduation of the Death Duties "!,"... ., !!! 4 



Prom graduation of income tax for incomes above £5000 ... [.'. ... ... 6 



Total 80 - 



In another convenient table he shows: — 



SUGGESTED ALTERATION OF BUDGET. 



Extra Receipts. 



By additional Income Taxes 



Death Duties 



.. ,. Liquor Licences ... 



Million 

 Pounds. 

 .. 16 



... 4 

 ... 7 



AMOtTNTS SAVED. 

 B.V resumption of amount handed over to local 



bodies 



By reduction of Army 



By natural increase of revenue in the course of 

 .year ... 



27 



10 

 2 



39 



5 



41 



EXTRA EXPENDITITRE. 



Million 

 Pounds. 



To taking over local exrensoa of Education, feed- 

 ing necessitous children, and rroviding the 



children of workhouse parents 11 



To unemployed i 



To Old-aee Pensions for all over 65 -.. 14 



Extra Government emplo.vees' wages 1 



RECEIPTS REMITTED 



The Breakfast Table Duties 

 Goal Tax 



27 



12 

 2 



