Budget Criticisms Sir John Simon's Budget was eclipsed in importance,
on Budget day itself, by Mr. Chamberlain's announcement of conscription, and the Budget debate was thinly attended. Even on the Labour side it is admitted that, given the limited scope of his problem, Sir John Simon has not been unsuccessful ; the demand for the conscription of wealth, to which so far no very precise form has been given, is really a criticism of the very small amount of new expendi- ture which Sir John has decided to cover by new revenue. Even within the limits of the new taxation imposed, how- ever, there are criticisms to be made to which the Opposi- tion has not given sufficient attention. The new films tax, by which Sir John has succeeded in reducing the tax on the living theatre, will further hamper the still struggling British films industry. Sir John might well have found an alterna- tive source of revenue, in part at least, by increasing the tax on British wines, whose output has grown continuously in the last ten years—to say nothing of restoring the penny on beer taken off in 1933 ; and with a further tax on the £40,000,000 turnover of the pools, demanded by the Postal Workers in conference this week, he could have taken money which its owners obviously find themselves able to spare.
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