The Budget " Concession " to Road • Transport.
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rpHERE is very little of interest in the -IBudget so far as the commercial-vehicle industry is concerned. It had been hoped in many quarters that the heavy licence 'duties which are at present in operation might be • reduced, but these hopes have not been realized except in one minor detail—the rate of duty • for goods vehicles of which the unladen weight is over 2 tons but not exceeding 2i tons has been reduced from 140 to 05, with the existing rebate of 20 per cent. in cases where they are equipped throughout with pneumatic tyres. The number of vehicles affected by this reduction is quite small, so small, indeed, that it might appear that the Chancellor has selected this category as one to the owners of the vehicles in which a sop could be thrown without any considerable expenditure. We believe that the remission is estimated to amount to about £20,000. It is difficult to say how many vehicles are affected, because the fig-ttres issued by the Ministry of Transport refer to the category of 2 tons to 3 tons, so that a considerable number of the 19,000 or so lorries included in this section will not reap any benefit, and, as a matter of fact, at £5 per vehicle the estimate of £50,000 means that in only 10,000 instances will there be a reduction.
• The balance of the Road Fund at the end of the year proved to be larger than was expected, amounting to about £4,500,000, and the Chancellor therefore proposes to make a corresponding increase in the percentage grants for road improvements and new construction, so that for the year 1929 the 'normal road grants for these purposes will be 60 per cent, of the approved cost in the case of Class I roads and 50 per cent. in the case of approved schemes for all roads and bridges other than those in this class.
As an inducement to local authorities to assist the depressed areas, an additional grant of 15 per cent, will be given in respect of schemes on which no less than 50 per cent, of men drawn from such areas are employed.
It is estimated that the additional allocation and the replacement of level crossings by bridges will bring the total expenditure out of the 'Road Fund, this year, up. to 123,000,000, whilst the aggregate road expenditure of the country approaches £60,000,000.
The Budget proposals are, to say the least of them, most, disappointing and still show the pro-railway bias for which Mr. Churchill has always been noted, for whilst our industry benefits to such a meagre extent, the taxation of the railways has been reduced in the present year by some £300,000 as the result of the remission of the railway-passenger duty.
We cannot say that we expected much better from the Chancellor .after the way in which be received the recent deputation representing road ,transport interest's, for although in his reply to this deputation he was particularly discouraging in respect of the plea for reduction in the taxation of private cars he said nothing to indicate that he would assist those running commercial vehicles. Mr. Churchill apparently believes that we should be thankful for our one small mercy, but we are afraid that the chorus of thanks will not be loud.