(click image to enlarge)
The present cartoon speculates on the content of Labour Chancellor Hugh Dalton's first Postwar Budget, which was presented on 23 October 1945.
The war effort in the United Kingdom had required a huge increase in income tax, from 27.5% in 1938, to 50% by 1945. In addition, the country had emerged from the war with significantly increased national debt. The hope was that the Budget would contain significant tax relief, portrayed here as the apples above the Tantalus of Greek mythology, just out of reach.
Indeed, tax relief was a central part of Dalton's Budget, including a cut in the standard income tax rate and increase in allowances for both single and married individuals. The Chancellor stated that 2 million people would be relieved of income tax entirely.
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