STATE ACCOUNTS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 27, 1 February 1930, Page 20

STATE ACCOUNTS.

~ x, REVENUE GREATER. NINE MONTHS' FIGURES. i* j SMALL SURPLUS POSSIBLE. •• , S FINANCE MINISTER'S STATEMENT. I*m " V: . .. . > J (By Telegraph.r—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, Thursrav. Details of Public Accounts for the nine months which ended on December 31, published in a special gazette, are given in a statement by the Prime licS- Minister, Sir Joseph Ward. * Revenue for the nine months was - ; £16,338,212, compared with £15,013,863 for the corresponding period of the previous year, an increase of £1,324,349. ,* After making due allowance for fluctua--5 tions in dates of accounting and ills' creases in motor vehicles' license fees, BSE& and the tax on motor spirits, collected gS for the Main Highways Board, the actual increase is„ approximately Hg [£1,150,000. One of the principal items of revenue ehowing an increase is Customs. The increase is £866,932. About 40 per cent of this increase is accoimted for by the duty on motor vehicles, which is largely seasonal, and is not likely to continue to the close of the financial year. Additional primage duty is y.iX responsible for £198,000, and land tax £71,019, due principally -to the altera.tion in mortgage exemptions and revaluations. Interest on public moneys increased by £122,214, mainly due to 1(a) earlier raising of the 1929 loan in London, enabling loan receipts to be invested on fixed deposit for a longer period; (b) the higher rate interest rej'i'hri ceived on- temporary investments m toil London. The miscellaneous revenue was -, , greater by £88,108. This increase -icludes £54,000 on account of the sale of the Pacific Cable. The following table shows the revenue i received under principal heads, com- : pared with the three-quarters Budget i estimate for the year. Receipts from i motor vehicles duties, l™ es > etc : which are apportioned to the Main Hifeh- ! ways Account and local bodies, and from : iJL. tax, winch i. February, have been omitted fiom • #: table- _. • //, Thrne- "■ quarters :, , of Budget Actual ; estimate. revenue. * £ £ rnKfom , 6,800,000 6.764,039 Beer duty'!: 450,000 460,710 a " d 2,710,500 2,587,200 I and tax 1,110,750 1,120,004 | I "Sys On ... PUbI . IC 615,000 645,554 Interest on capital 1! liability o£ working ~o n its railways 1,837,500 1,-j-0,000 Postal and telegraph 800,000 3-4,000 Interest on public debt redemption , fund 740,250 041,005 v, Total £14,180,000 14,004,217 Heavy Imports in December. —.... Customs duty is the only item of tlio above showing a substantial increase 4 : P r °P° rt |on of, estimate, but wlioiiv the, estimate was made ifc wni 4 , cx P ccted there would be a' fulling off

towards the end of the year. This is not yet borne out, for although the amount received during November was less than the amount received during any month since June, 1929, December is well above the average. Interest on capital liability of working railways shows a considerable shortage, and owing to the writing off of £8,100,000 capital in terms of section 20 of the Finance Act, 1929, the final revenue for the year from this source will be lower than the estimate. As a set-off against this decrease can be taken the cessation of the subsidy on losses on branch lines and isolated sections. " Increased Expenditure. The expenditure for the nine months, compared with the corresponding period of the previous year was:—• 1929. 1928. Increase Permanent appropriations ...13,205,861 11,588,970 1,616,891 Annual appropriations .. 5,652,810 5,639,614 . 13,196 Total £18,858,671 £17,228,584 £1,630,087 The increase under permanent appropriations is £1,610,891, the principal items showing increases being: Interest, £139,221, principally interest on new loans raised in London and New Zealand; repayment of Public Debt Act, 1925, £1,029,283, mainly due to earlier payment this year, but including part of the estimated increase of £100,000; under special Acts, £424,548, the greater proportion of the increase under this head being due to increased receipts from motor vehicles duties, licenses, etc., and the consequent increase in the amounts paid to the Main Highways Account. In addition, the old-age and widows' pensions and subsidies under the Hospitals and Charitable Institutions Act, 1926, show increases. The expenditure under annual appropriations shows very little variation, the increase being only £13,196. Increases are shown in the following votes: Department of Agriculture £13,378, Department of Education £93,778. The following , show decreases: Public buildings £24,964, Department of External Affairs £20,635, electoral department £50,736. Minister's Conclusions. From the above it will be seen that the major portion of the increase is in permanent appropriations. 'After eliminating the increases due to accounting fluctuations (earlier payments) and items- such as payments of fees and fines under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1924, and petrol tax to the Main Highways Account, which follow a corresponding increase on the revenue side, the approximate increase in permanent appropriations is £360,000. / Summing up, the position as disclosed by nine months' figures indicates there is a reasonable prospect of the accounts balancing on the right side at the end of the financial year, with the possibility of small surplus, if the Customs revenue does not materially deeline.