The budget was a stunner, in several ways. It was a beauty for balance; Hugh Dalton had achieved a surplus of about £270,000,000 ($1,080,000,000). It had an unmistakably Laborite look in keeping income taxes high on the rich and the middle class, while easing those of the low-income group. But it had one monstrous feature: the duty on tobacco was upped by 50%. That meant that a package of 20 cigarets, which cost 47¢ on Budget Day, cost 67¢ the day after.
Britons, who had expected some increase, were shocked. They swore at Dalton for soaking the poor where it hurt. And...
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