The Daily Alaska empire., 1947-05-22
Britain's Tobacco Budget"
tNeW York Times


 The annual budget presented to the British peo- pie by Hugh Dalton, Chancellor of the Exchequer. serves as a fresh reminder of the almost paradox- cal character of Britains economic "radicalism The British Labor party. which is The Government in Britain today, MarXian socialist in it's philosophy. with it's to us alien concept of public ownership of the of production. Yet when it comes to an institution such the Budget. party lines in Britain little nothing. The most orthodox of Finance Ministers could have been prouder than MT Dalton appears to have been when he announced that the budget had been brought into balance for 1947-948.
 Even under the new British income tax rates the single person with income of S2 900 will pay tax of SAT, compared with S249 for individa in similar circumstances in the United States The burden of taxes enterprise remains exorbitant. And tariffs and excise taxes such to make luxuries of necessities and to make onetime luxuries almost attainable The British public grumbles at these things and to wry to give vent to it's feelings It has already dubbed the budget, which raises the price of pack of cigarettes from 47 cents to CT cents, the mo smoking budget, or the tobacco budget But although austerity budget follows austerity budget to to either the Government the man in the street in Britain to turn the radical escapist budgetary theories that finds among our own o-economists and their followers. Under a Conservative Government a Labor Government balanced budget is still, to the British, symbol of financial integrity, and such matter of national pride.
 The real importance of the Governments action
 
 that it has provided popular appeation for the budget Its real importance is that it points up the nature of Brtan's real budget problem, which is external rather than internal Nor is that problem evident in the overall picture of the countrys inter- national balance of payments.
 The problem is qualitative one, well quantitative. Britains l947 import program indi- cates the extent to which she is dependent for her existence the rest of the world It calls for bringing in $2900 000000 worth of food and agricultural SUD- plies s2 100000 900 in materials and supplies for industries. s24O0o00O0 in machinery and equipment 0000000 in petroleum and it's products, S140,000,- GOO in consumers goods and S200000000 in tobacco What makes the problem particularly difficult from the exchange standpoint, however. is that Britans main source Of food and materials is the Western Hemisphere particularly the United States and Can ada countries which with certain European nations such Sweden Switzerland and Portugal sources of the hard" currencies of which she is in urgent need. Yet while 42 per cent of her imports drawn from that area it takes only 14 per cent of her ports If that unbalance in the exchanges to continue it would that the dollar balances cre- ated through the Canadian and American loans would be dssipated long before the five-year recovery period which they predicated had expired. This is why MT Dalton explains that the new tobacco duty introduced not to raise revenue but to dollars"