22 HOW TO PAY FOR THE WAR

rough approximations of the truth. We do notknow accurately how the national income is dis-tributed between different income-groups, althoughthis is clearly a matter of the first importance.There is some fairly good evidence of the pro-portions belonging to those with less than £250a year and to those with more than £2,000 a year;but for the important intermediate groups theinformation is defective. But whilst many detailsin the following are probably inaccurate, I do notthink that the picture as a whole is misleading.As before, we shall use pre-war prices and wagesas our measuring rods; for, if we depart from these,we are on shifting sands.

We will begin with the sum-total of personalincomes before the war, (See Appendix I for thebasis of this total), add to this the prospectivewar increase, and take away the rates and taxeswhich were already being paid in the pre-waryears:

Income group 1

Below £250

£250-£500

Above £500

Total

£

£

£

£

million

million

million

million

Pre-war

2,910

640

1,700

5.250

War increase

425

100

300

825

Total war in-

incomes

3,335

740

2,000

6,075

Pre-war rates

and taxes

390

50

780

1,220

£2,945

690

1,220

4,855

1 The groups are to be interpreted to cover those who were inthese pre-war, even though war increases may be moving them intohigher income groups.