AUGUST RETURNS

Greymouth Evening Star, 1 September 1943, Page 7

AUGUST RETURNS

greymouth customs Receipts of the Greymouth Customs Department during August showed an increase of more than £.4000 com pared with those of the corresponding month of 1942. Details are as follow, those for the previous August being given in parentheses:—Customs £4,416/15/1 (£3,622/8/9); sales tax £3,449/18/6 ( £3,148/16/11); war expenses, sales tax £5,696/16/7 (£5,275/12/11); war expenses other £9,228/8/5 (£8,271/8/7); total (£32,598/11/- (£28,322/14/1). VITAL STATISTICS An increase in the number of births and deaths is recorded in the vital statistics for Grey mouth during August, compared with August, 194... Births totalled 31 (27 last year), deaths 15 (13),. marriage notices issued 6 (6), and marriages by registrar 1 (nil). GREYMOUTH RAINFALL By a margin of 15 points, August was a drier month than the coiiesponding period of 1942, in Greymouth. The total fall was 6.44 inches on 15 days, the heaviest being 1.22 inches on the 23rd. In August, 1942 the fall reached 6.59 inches on 19 days, of which the heaviest was 98 points on the 6th. The total for the year to date is 65.79 inches. CHRISTCHURCH Revenue under all headings in the August return of the Customs Department at Christchurch shows little variation from that of August last year. War expenses showed a slight increase of £5775, but in the customs, beer, and sales tax sections there were only minor changes. For the five months of the financial year, however, there are some changes in comparison with the corresponding period of 1942-43. Customs revenue dropped from £320,439 to £260,701, beer increased from £76,877 to £100,084, sales tax declined from £224,093 to £195,121, and war expenses increased from £502,679 to £605,578. The five months’ total for 1942- was £1,124,138 and for 1943- £1,161,484. The August figures this year are as follow, the preceding year’s returns being shown in parenthesis:—Customs, £55,268 (£55,445); beer, £12,007 (£13,074);’ sales tax, £38,379 (£39,260); war expenses, £122,966 (£117,191). The respective totals were £228,620 and £224,970. AUCKLAND Although there was a falling off in sales tax collections this month, compared with August, 1942, other sources of revenue received at Auckland by the Customs Department showed a substantial increase.. Details for August, with those for August last year in parenthesis, are: Customs, £179,576 ( £145,297);. excise on beer, £41,862 (£24,928); sales tax, £99,832 (£104,041); war expenses account, £295,580 (£272,738); totals, £616,850 (£547,004). DUNEDIN Customs returns for August followed by those for August last year, are as follow:—Customs, £33,820 (£32,794); beer, £37,178 (£22,354); sales tax, £24,600 (£32,025); war expenses, £98,030 (£104,508).