N.S. WALES FINANCE

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 December 1929, Page 7

N.S. WALES FINANCE

BUDGET’S PROPOSALS INCOME TAX RELIEF (By Cable—Press Assn.—Copyright.) SYDNEY, December 10. In the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, the Treasurer, Mr. Stevens, delivered his Budget speech. He said that the financial operations for the year ended Jun© 30 last had resulted in a surplus of £593,169, the revenue being £20,703,940, and the expenditure £20,110,771. Mr. Stevens estimated that the revenue this year will diminish by £420,137. There was, he said, the utmost difficulty in arriving at revenue estimates owing to the uncertain financial and trade outlook. He estimated the current year’s expenditure at £20,262,417, which was slightly greater than that of last year. Commenting on the economic position, which he described as grave, he said that there was a diminishing purchasing power in the community, and a growth of unemployment, which was accentuated by the coal deadlock. He pointed out whereas the average amount received by Australia for the past five years from the sale of her primary products abroad was approximately £141,000,000, the amount which these would realise in the year 1928-29 would be only £112,000,000. In other words, he said there would be twenty-nine millions less coming to Australia for the sale of her products.

He announced that the New South Wales Government was compelled to reduce its loan expenditure from fourteen and a-half millions sterling to ten millions for this year, owing to an adverse in the market conditions for overseas loans. The Government proposed to try and stimulate production, and reduce the burdens on industry. It would reduce the income taxation this year by one million pounds. The supertax of threepence in the pound on companies would not be levied this year. The maximum rate of three shillings income tax would be reduced by threepence to 2s 9d in the pound. There also would be a general reduction of 5 per cent, in the rate of income tax on individual personal exertion and property. The method of child endowment taxation would be substantiated by new taxation of 1 per cent, on the wages of all of the employees under the State awards, as from January 1. This method would lift a burden off industry of approximately one million sterling annually. He added that the Government also intended to obtain addition revenue from increased taxation on liquor and tobacco licenses and on betting. Mr Stevens announced that they expected to finish the financial year with a surplus of £21,386. He intimated it was also proposed to-impose a tax on amusements.

Referring to the growth of competition of motor traffic against railways, Mr Stevens said the time had arrived when the Railway Department would have to go after business rather than wait for it to come to the railways. The railways earnings last year were nineteen millions, working expenses approximately fifteen millions. The capital invested in New South Wales railways was 124 millions, and aggregated almost half the public debt.