Budget Possibilities

There are still a number of possibilities for the budget, however. The first items to receive attention this year will almost certainly be the 1958 penal taxes on beer, tobacco and spirits. It is not quite so likely that the last fourpence will be taken off petrol, but the others should have some, if not all, of sales tax imposed in 1958 removed. Because of the deficit, reductions in income tax are not so likely as they were at the beginning of the year. The remit before the Labour Conference proposing total exemption for all incomes under £1040 has no hope at all of serious consideration, but the overall rates may be reduced slightly. Estate and death duties will almost certainly be scaled down.