The Dominion FRIDAY, JULY 9, 1926. A MODEL BUDGET

Dominion, Volume 19, Issue 253, 9 July 1926, Page 8

The Dominion FRIDAY, JULY 9, 1926. A MODEL BUDGET

There has been a tendency in recent years to abandon the voluminous stvle of Budget so dear to the heart of the late Mr. Richard Seddon. Every conceivable phase of public policy was dragged into the Budgets of Mr. Seddon’s days and even still later davs; and finance really became quite a secondary mattei. The public were at times left gasping over the terrific range of Governmental activities foreshadowed in such grandiloquent language as was then the mode. . Our latest Finance Minister, the Hon. W. Downie Stewart, m the Budget he placed before Parliament last evening, made a very marked departure from past practice. This Financial Statement was a statement explaining the position of the finances of the country. A very lucid statement, briefly yet adequately setting out the facts embellished only, with such commentaries as might seem necessary to clear away misconception and minimise the risk of misunderstanding. The 1926 Budget is in some respects a masterly production, .It covers the salient features of the public finances with a brevity which suggests the exercise of much care in the elimination of . all but essential matter, and there is a wholesome frankness in dealing with such questions as taxation, the public debt, etc. There is not going to be any reduction in taxation. That, is made quite plain. With a somewhat uncertain trade outlook, with new expenditure commitments in prospect, and with a debt reduction policy always in mind, the Finance Minister proposes to play. safe. There is a probability of a shrinkage in revenue this year without any reduction of taxation, and that in itself is sufficient warrant for Mr. Stewart’s policy of caution. On the subject of the public debt, the Finance Minister must have felt some qualms in framing his summary of the position. It is true that the money borrowed was ear-marked almost entirely for what are known as reproductive works or for purposes regarded as a necessary part of the growth and development of the country. The fact —and it is a staggering fact—nevertheless remains, to confront' us that last year the public debt of the country was increased by eleven million pounds. The reasons accounting for this borrowing as given by the Minister are convincing enough, and we do not challenge their soundness. But when is the tapering-off policy in the matter of borrowing really to begin? The main features of the financial operations of the past year are familiar to those who follow such matters, and call for little comment. With a surplus of over a million on the year’s working, the Minister is in the happy position of starting the new year with a credit balance in the Consolidated Fund of nearly four and a half millions. The estimates of revenue and expenditure for the year are based on the assumption that there will be a drop in revenue of approximately £500,000, and an increase in expenditure of some £400,000. If these expectations are realised the revenue and expenditure for the year should just about balance—that is to say, the Finance Minister has so arranged his finance that he does not anticipate a surplus at the end of the current year. Mr. Stewart in this respect probably is erring on the side of safety. The Budget as a whole is an admirable production, and Mr. Downie Stewart is to be heartily congratulated on his maiden effort.