The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-04-02
NOTHING TO FEAR FR0M LABOR PLAN, SAYS CIR OLIVER
Sees Nothing BoIshevistic in Scheme to Levy on Capi-,
 tai to Balance Budget


 politics in England in the following article written for the Age Herald. declares there is nothing to fear from the demand of the labor party. the governments opposition in the House of Commons, that capital tax be levied to balance the British budget Sir Sidney was formerly the governor of Jamaica, secretary of the minister of agriculture and as sistant comptroller and auditor of the eXchequer.
 Fly SIR SIDNEY OLIVIER
 LONDON, April 1.-The proposal in the labor party's election program to reduce the national debt by levy OH capital values was not the item oG which the party laid most stress They were much more deeply con. cerned with the demand for immc diate measures to remedy unemploy- ment
 But. capital levy was the issue that provoked the most controversy / and the most spirited discussion in the press. Correspondence on the question elicited letters from insur- ance directors bankers, merchants, manufacturers. professors. political economists and official fiscal eX perts.
 The labor party proposes that a graduated levy should be made not on the gross capital values of busi- ness undertakings. such as banks, in- surance companies, industrial and manufacturing concerns or private businesses, but on the individual per sonal properties of those who held interests exceeding 5000 pounds value in such concerns, or in any other form of real or personal prop ertY.
 The levy would be on just the 6 m property in the death duties estah- lished by Sir William Harcourt. The assessment of values would be made in the same way as such assessments are made by the inland revenue de partment in the case of the duties
 Department heads have testified that there would be no serious diffi- culty in applying these methods.
 A graded levy would be in sub stance equivalent to a capitaliZa tion and redemption on the graded tax now taken on the income arising from the same capital.
 Plan as Discussed.
 The plan was discussed on the basis of raising 5000, ,ooo, 900 pounds by levy and that amount of the na- tional debt paid off. This would re- lieve the exchequer of about 150, 000,0 pounds in interest each year. Taxpayers would be relieved of a similar sum in income tax.
 This proposal had already com mended itself for consideration both to MT. Bonar Law and to Mir. Austin Chamberlain Ghough not in fact adopted by them) when chancellors of the eXchequer. It had been stren- uously argued in Parliament by such able financial and accounting au- thorities on the liberal benches.
 Much of the onslaught on capital levy in the late election. in which the scheme was called a preda cious installment of bolshevik communism. may therefore be disregarded.
 The advocates of capital levy to reduce the national debt urge it pri- marily on the ground that 1t is es- sential to national prosperity to di : minish taxation. Both sides are agreed that this is essential
 Opponents of the levy are even more emphatic than it's supporters in clamoring that industry is crippled, it's development checked and unem- ployment maintained and intensified by the present high taxes on, in comes. It is out of income. they point out. that fresh capital must be accumulated.
 I don't say that such a program would be sound. It would. however, be quite as sound as the bankers in declaring the present national debt essential and that to reduce it by capital levy would be serious double error of policy.