Taxes on Knowledge Rescinded
Sir Kingsley Wood has wisely yielded to the demand that newspapers, books and periodicals should be exempted from the scope of the Purchase Tax. In announcing the concession last Tuesday the Chancellor himself made an adequate state- ment of the objections to the tax, which are so strong, and one would have thought so self-evident, that it is surprising these " taxes on knowledge " were ever contemplated. He admitted that in any case it would be more difficult for people to spend money on books, periodicals and even newspapers under present conditions, and that never was it more important that thf printed word should be widely distributed, to impart informa- tion and maintain morale. He spoke with less apparent con- viction about books than about periodicals, and the promised exemption was qualified with the words " at least for tlx present." It is to be hoped that he will persist in the more generous course. Books are hard hit by the war, and it is an essential national interest that reading should be facilitated, that the purchase of books should be encouraged, and that their cultural influence at home and abroad should be promoted The objection that many books published are of little cultural value is beside the mark, for the tax-collector cannot distin- guish between good books and bad, and the maintenance of the whole trade is economically indispensable to the existence d the best. The present decision is right, and must not be abandoned.
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