FEDERAL FINANCE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 18 May 1926, Page 5

FEDERAL FINANCE.

STATEMENT OF POSITION. REVENUE, AND EXPENDITURE. BY CABLE—PRESS ASSOCIATION-COPYRIGHT. MELBOURNE, May 17. The Treasury, in reply to recent criticism that the Commonwealth is raising revenue far in excess of actual needs, has issued a statement to members of the Federal Parliament. It contends that fhe criticism .'is due to failure to appreciate the increase in the unavoidable expenditure of the Commonwealth, and) to the prominence given to the increased yield in customs and excise duties. The statement says that the Commonwealth in the past three years paid £1,700,000 to the Btat.es for roads, and proposes now to give two million yearly for the next decade. National insurance is placed at a. quarter of a. million fop the first year. The annual cost to the Commonwealth under the migration agreements entered into with Britain is £300,000, and railway construction is expected to cost £I3O,(XX). The chief increases in expenditure since 1918-10 arose out of the war. Increases in,interest are explained by recalling the fact that a loan of £40,000,000. was raised just prior to the end of the war Other loans, two of £25,000,000 and! one of £10,000,000, together with interest-bearing gratuity bonds amounting to £21,680,000, and recent conversion of 4f per cent. £67,000,000 loan to o-J- per cent., resulted in an increase of £670,000 . in annual interest charges. One of the most notable increases in expenditure was the invalid and old-age. pensions. The income from customs and excise duties increased from £17,426,000 in 1918-19 to £39,426,000 in the present year. The Treasury adds: “It must not be forgotten that Australia, lias been favoured with a number of prosperous seasons and a large volume of exports. These facts, taken in conjunction with borrowing overseas by the Commonwealth and State Governments, have resulted in greatly increased imports and and a corresponding increase in Customs revenue.” The Treasury statement concludes: “The revenue to-day is considerably less than in 1918-19, and it is evident that the Commonwealth finances are not in an easier position than they were at the end of the: war.’’