The Financia' Position

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XII, Issue 233, 14 September 1922, Page 4

The Financia' Position

IMPROVEMENT REVEALED. COMPARED WITH LAST YEAR. TWO MILLION DROP IN INCOME TAX. (Special to “Tribune.’’) Wellington, Sept. 13. Satisfaction with the improvement in the finances of the Dominion for the first five months of the current financial year was expressed by the Prime Minister to-day. He admitted this satisfaction was tempered somewhat by the knowledge that a drop of £2,000,000 must be expected this year in income tax. Mr. Massey, read from the comparison for the first five mouths* of this year and last year. In the first place the return showed a nett decrease in revenue of £151,509. That, he commented, was better than the country had any reason to expect, and he was willing to predict that during the present month they would be able to overtake that amount and perhaps show a little on the other side. The net decrease in expenditure from the consolidated fund for five months, as compared with last year, was £1,903.249, but he thought this would be satisfactory to the country. There had been in the list certain items such as that dealing with the purchase of wheat, and one or two other little items which he had not thought it right to give as they could not be classed as ordinary expenditure. Some of the main decreases were: Treasury, £26,000; stamps £20,000; working railways, £851,000. Then there had been one or two items which he had struck out ,the decrease in the Department of Industries and Commerce relating to wheat and amounting to £421,719. which would have swollen the total a great deal had he left it in ; pensions, £13,000, internal affairs, £48,000; printing and stationery, £33,000; mental hospitals, £17,000; military, forces and defence, £57,000; Customs, £20,000; marine, £13,000; land and survey, £25,000; agriculture, £30,000; tourists, £12,000; education, £4] ,000; post and and telegraph, £183,802. These figures, said Mr. Massey, were very good. The fall in expenditure was very satisfactory. It would have been much more tsatisfactory from a financial point of view if he did not know that they had to look forward to a drop in income tax this year as compared with last year.