"ILLUSORY” FIGURES
BUDGET SURPLUSES MR. WILKINSON’S CLAIM (Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, this day. How Budget surpluses can be managed, was explained by Mr. C. A. Wilkinson (Ind., Egmont) from behind the Opposition benches in the House of Representatives last night. He had heard a previous Government speaker boast of six successive surpluses, but these, he declared, were largely illusory. Two accounts were kept by the Government, one the public revenue and the other public works, which was maintained from borrowed money. Thus it was quite easy to create a surplus, because it was just a matter of how much to charge to the fund created from borrowed money. He understood that the salaries of the Public Works Department, from head to office boy, were paid from borrowed money. If they came from the revenue account they would reduce the surplus. Britain had only one account containing all transactions. Here, with two accounts, it was easy to manipulate to create a surplus, though he was not making any reflection on the Minister of Finance, the Hon. W. Nash, by using the word manipulation.
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Bibliographic details
Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20620, 30 July 1941, Page 2
Word Count
181"ILLUSORY” FIGURES Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20620, 30 July 1941, Page 2
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