Soviet Government Calls for Steeper Taxes
; MOSCOW, Oct. 30ÛÓThe Soviet ;finance minister proposed sharp tax ÐÊincreases today on several nonessen-itial food items, including tobacco and ;beer, to reduce a growing budget ÐÊdeficit.</br></br>; Addressing the Supreme Soviet legislature, Finance Minister Valen-itin Pavlov said that the price rises ;were necessary to prevent rationing Û¢by scarcity. But his proposals caused ÐÊso much grumbling among deputies that President Mikhail Gorbachev ;wa3 forced to call for order.</br></br>: The governmentÛªs plan envisages ;a 30 percent rise in the price of tobacco, one of the steepest price rises Iseen here since Gorbachev came to ipower in 1985. The Communist authorities have postponed major price -reforms until at least 1991 for fear that increases in the prices of essen-</br></br>Over the last few weeks, Soviet economists have suggested that the country is headed for economic collapse unless measures are taken soon to strengthen labor discipline and balance the budget. But, while everybody agrees that further economic sacrifices are necessary, the government has not come up with an accepted a plan.</br></br>Soviet newspapers last weekend published grim economic statistics for the first nine months of 1989, showing that many branches of industry have failed to meet planned targets. The statistics showed that the gross national product had increased by 3.6 percent, instead of the planned 7 percent.