The only other source of additional revenue in immediate contemplation appears to be the luxury tax.  If this can be levied so as to fall on articles which are really luxuries, i.e., things not required for full and healthy life, the effect of such a tax should be wholly beneficial.  If, notwithstanding the tax, people go on buying such luxuries the State will gain.  If, on the other hand, the effect of the tax is to check expenditure on luxuries it will be a gain to the country, because its productive power and its purchasing power will be used to obtain articles which are really valuable and do promote national welfare.  The idea that those who spend money on luxuries are helping trade, and so benefiting others, ought to have been exploded long ago.  If the industry which has been devoted to producing articles which are really useless were diverted to producing things of utility, the aggregate of human happiness would be greatly increased.  A difficulty in applying the tax is that the price of an article is little criterion as to whether it is a luxury or not.

There are two other sources from which additional revenue might be obtained.

First, to impose again an export duty on coal.  Such a duty would help rather than hinder British industry.  That industry is dependent absolutely on the supply of coal.  British Coal Measures are an asset which enables the country to keep industries going, but it is a wasting asset.  Deeper and better mining may have upset calculations made by Professor Jevons many years ago when he warned the country of the disastrous consequences of using up our coal supplies, but sooner or later the pinch will come.  An export duty ought to be imposed on coal directly the present war restrictions can be removed.  Our stores of coal cannot be indefinitely increased by increased industry.  If the duty operated to reduce export of coal British manufacturers would gain, and be able to produce commodities at less cost.  If the demand from abroad were so strong that export did not diminish, the country would gain to the whole extent of the duty paid by foreign purchasers.  The ordinary arguments in favour of free trade do not support objection to such an export duty as this.  There will be ample demand for all the coal that can be produced.  Even if there were not, it would be well not to use it up so quickly.  There are some kinds of coal, of which the amount available is very limited, yet until the War broke out quantities of such coal were freely sent to other countries, some of it to those who are now at war with us, and so used to help our enemies, who got the precious mineral cheap because we refused to allow the imposition of an export duty.  Probably the duty when it was tried was not imposed in the best way, being charged at a fixed rate per ton instead of on an ad valorem scale, but this fault could easily be corrected.  Special exceptions in favour of Colonies or Allies, or for the supply of certain places, might be made by arrangement in consideration of some equivalent favour, or to meet some particular need.