Evening star., 1940-04-23
British War Budqet
OF $9,334,5O0,000
Lists New Taxes
Wholesale Sales Levy
And Higher Postage
Rotes Included
By the Associated Press.

LONDON, April 23. - Britain S
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir
John Simon, today announced a
new war budget of f2,667 ,O0O, 900
1884 ,500,000 for the 1940-41 fiscal
year, which began April l, and i'm
posed host of new levies which he
asked the public to accept "for the
sake of victory
The new taxes ranged from a
wholesale sales tax to increased
postage rates.
Sir John told the House Britain's
war expenses for the first seven
months of the European conflict
totaled f905, 100000 (about S3,167,-
O00,000) and said this indicated an
annual war expenditure rate of
about f1,500, 100000 (about $780,
O00,00O, which, however, was rising.
From new sources. the chancellor
said, he hoped to boost revenue by
fl01 100000 to a total of s1,234 ,OOO,-
600, leaving a f1,433 100000 deficit to
be found by borrowing. CThe Brit
ish pound currently is worth about
$500
Rates Not Yet Fixed.
The proposed new purchase" levy
would be applied on sales from
wholesalers to retailers and fitted
by the government into plan for
Transforming our whole economy"
Sir John said.
He explained the revolutionary
tax would be applied at rates yet
to be determined and would reduce
the demand for supplies and con-
serve manpoWer"
Sir John said he would resort both
to direct and indirect levies. He re-
minded the nation that the income
tax rate beginning April l would be
~ shillings in the pound (371a per
cent? as had been announced at the
time of his emergency war budget
soon after the conflict began.
The chancellor announced an in
crease of l penny pint (about Ia
cents) in the tax on beer, pence
tabout cents) an ounce in the to-
bacco duty and an increase of the
ordinary letter rate from l pence
half penny (about cents to 2
pence half-penny (about cents.
Inland telephone charges will be in
creased Is per cent.
Estimate of Yields.
He estimated the beer tax increase
would produce f18,OOO,OG in a full
year and the postal rate increase, in
cluding an increase on foreign
postage of half penny, would pro-
duce f10000,000 this year and f11,-
100000 in a full fiscal year.
The cost of bottle of whisky was
increased by shilling 9 pence 15-
penny.
To strike balance for the 1939-40
year, Sir John said, the government
was forced to borrow s76S 100000
(about $2,698,000 000).
He warned that war profteering
would not be tolerated, declaring
Parliament would know how to deal
with "the citizen who seeks by clear
ly artificial arrangements to escape
paying his proper share of the heavy
burden of taxation"
Sir John said that the postwar
emergence of minority of in
dividuals whom the war had brought
nothing but colossal fortunes" would
be a situation which the House
could not pass by without effective
and appropriate action"
AS he ended that sentence, a
Laborite member yelled you did
last time"
New Ships Undergoing Trials.
Hector c. ByWater, noted naval
authority, wrote in the London News
Chronicle that Britain's five new
battleships are nov undergoing
trials" and that they would be the
largest, the most powerfully armed
and the most strongly-protected"
battleships in the world.
An official statement was issued
declaring that Germany had suf-
fered "a warship casualties" since
the start of the war, not counting
a large number of submarines, COM
pared with only 18 British warships
sunk, including five submarines and
the armed merchant cruiser Rawal-
pindi.
The Air Ministry announced that
anti-aircraft batteries and fighter
planes last night beat off German
planes that flew over the estuaries
of the Thames and Humber, appar-
emily in an attempt to SOW mines
in the pathway of British shipping.
Britain'S Biggest Battleships.
Mr. Bywater gave the most COM
plete details of the five new battle
ships yet announced Mr. Churchill
on February 27 had said that the
IS 5000-ton craft would join the feet
soon. They are the King George v,
the Prince of Wales, the Duke of
York, the Jellicoe and the Beatty
They are the largest battleships
ever built in this country" said Mr..
Bywater, land are exceeded in size
only by the Lion and the Teme-
raire and two others not yet named
which still are under construction
and will displace at least 10000
tons"
The five new floating fortresses
mount ten 14-inch guns in two
quadruple turrets, and one twin tur-
ret, sixteen 5.25-inch guns and many
lighter ones. Each ship will carry
Cl1l &C OH VI dAU dIlSl 4,COO OlllSClS anu
men. They will have speed of 30
knots, as compared with the % of
the battleship Nelson, a 33,950-ton
ship.
Completion of these ships will
raise Britain's capital ship strength
to 10 and leave at least four more
building.
The British statement on the wars
naval casualties" followed by one
day German unofficial" an
nouncement that in IL days of
Scandinavian action Britain had
lose cruisers, 10 destroyers and 8
submarines sunk and l cruiser
beacher, and suffered severe damage
to battleships, battle and heavy
cruisers, l light cruiser and air.
plane carrier.
The British summary stated that
OF Is capital ships completed prior