REVENUE RETURNS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 473, 3 April 1909, Page 5

REVENUE RETURNS.

BRITAIN'S DECREASE. NEARLY FIVE MILLIONS LAST YEAR. FINAL QUARTER BETTER: (I>l Jll.EaiUru-l-ll*ss WSOCIATMN-cnjTRIOM.I London, April 1. Hie revenue of tho United Kingdom for tlio last quarter of the financial year 1908-09 January 1 to March 31, was as under: Customs 7,531^000 7,970,000 ps 7 . 2,030,000 Jotal Hevcnuo 58,710,000 The total revenue for the quarter ending fTv. t r 19 ° 9 ' 1S tllUs £71 ' m ' n cxcc ™ W „ , th ° quartcr endi "6 Malc l» 31, 1908 But though there is this gain on tho quarter, the total revenue for 190S-OD, £151 - 678,000, shows a falling off of £4,959,000 on tho revenue for 1907-08 (£156,537,000) JoZ Hy "i i ncomo lax for i'oar luUo-09 amounted to £33,930,000, being £1,550,000 in excess of the figure for 1907-08. REVENUE AND BUDGET. THE COMPARATIVE FIGURES. A recovery of £71,000 f or tho last onarter nevertheless leaves the revenue of the United Kingdom for 190S-09 .£4,959,000 less than the revenue for 1007-08. Practically, there 5 five millions less to form a Budget on, and tho rinn?°r> ? ?* Exchequer hns old ago penfieure<i fw to . provi(1 ° for - Tho ?nS ?i Hr i 'i" arter 3«st concluded, and for tho March quarter of 1907-08, compare la/th™ ■T tho of eonvenienco? the j last thieo ciphers arc dropped, and must in each case bs added on the figures Riven:— Be- In , .907-08. 1008-09. crease crease if" - i.° an> Ito■ ■" in Man Jl. liar. 31. 1908-09. 1903-09. Customs ... 7,760 7,531 229 - Mciso ... 8,870 7,970 900 — Stamps ... 1,970 2,030 - 60 Total revenue 58,639 58,710 — 71 The figures for the wholo year 1908-09, and for comp J a e r U ativ? 7 tl^ re / shoWtt in tho Decrease . in 190/ 03. 1908-09. 1908-09. ,€ X X Customs ... 32,490,000 29,200,000 3,290,000 Moise ... 35,720,000 33,650,000 2,070,000 stamps ... 7,970,000 7,770,000 200,000 Total revenue 156,537,000 151,578,000 4,959,000 THE TREASURY'S TASK. These figures may be taken as fairly foroshadoxving the Budget figures. In his last Bnd-pii-n nnn SCJU h esti . nlate( ' the revenue at A151,tf00,000, so there is an apparent deficit on that estimate of £2,772,000. According to a Unionist (Opposition) newspaper it was estimated last February that tho amount for which additional taxation would have to be found in tlio next Budget >vas JC13.800.000, mado U rSnnn nni OWS: J OId ? sc l' ei "ions £0,500,000, Navy A6,«U0,0C0, and various requirements .£1,000,000. With the prospect of such ail additional burden u® u 11?" m V s,: 1)6 'ho .£2,772,000 by which the estimate oxceeds the revenue—the cry for more Dreadnoughts must be to the mi! an s? ? r -°i Exchequer like a nightmare, the Unionist paper referred to predicts that the Liberal Government, to meet its financial needs, will suspend the payments to the sinitinc fund for tho reduction of tho National Debt. A innil tax and higher incomo taxos have also been spoken of. Meanwhile the Government assures its following that "the resources of frootrade finance are not exhausted."