COMMONWEALTH FINANCE

Evening Post, Volume CIII, Issue 3, 5 January 1922, Page 6

COMMONWEALTH FINANCE

Four Australian States and the Commonwealth itself, yesterday reported their half-year's revenue. In three cases (New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia) the revenue showed an increase over the revenue of the corresponding half-year; in two cases (the Commonwealth; and Queensland) decreases were reported. By far the heaviest fall is in the Commonwealth revenue, which, on the halfyearly comparison, has dropped by over 5J millions. This does not mean, that the States individually are in a different' economic plight from that of the Commonwealth collectively. It merely means that the Commonwealth, not the States, is the collector of Customs, and, as deflation promptly outs off importe, the Customs revenue is hit first.

But the same deflation that cuts imports will cut, at its next scythesweep, at the sources of direct taxation, so that the State Governments of Australia cannot honestly discover much cause for self-con-gratulation in the half-year.'s results. As the several States do not all cable their deficit or surplus figures, a comparison is impossible, but it is known that the finance of the two Labour Governments (in. Queensland and .New South Wales) is well on the wrong side. There is significance in the cabled fact that " although the Federal Government took power to issue a new loan, it is now believed that there will be no need for loan money during the current financial year." The twin.operations in Sydney of the Fair Rents Court and the Bankruptcy Court are the,subject of brief messages. We fear that the latter is the more permanent institution.