British Budget Balanced

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXII, Issue 91, 1 April 1932, Page 7

British Budget Balanced

Substantial Surplus Realised Official Treasury Statement £32,508,000 for Debt Redemption (British Official Wireless.) (Received 1, 12.30 p.m.) Rugby, March 31. In regard to the financial year, the published Treasury statement accompanying the abstract of accounts states: “The Budget has been balanced with a surplus of £364,000 after „ providing £32,508,000 for redemption of debt.”

This result has been achieved notwithstanding the decision to limit the amount paid to miscellaneous revenue from the exchange account to £12,750,000 including interest, instead of £23,000,000 including interest. The expenditure on supply services was £12,500,000 less than the September forecast, the reductions realised having been £34,500,000 as against the £22,000,000 contemplated in September. It will be observed that not merely were the estimates of yield of income tax and surtax realised, but they provided a surplus of £19,000,000 towards meeting the deficits under other heads of revenue. The national accounts show that the revenue for the year amounted to £770,963,000 and expenditure to £760,599,000. The revised Budget presented last September forecasted an exchequer receipt from income tax of £272,000,000 and from the surtax of £73,000,000, The amounts actually received in the year are respectively £287,400,000 and £76,700,000. On the other hand estate duties yielded only £65,000,000, which is £18,000,000 less than the Budget estimate, while stamps, which were ’estimated to produce £20,000,000, fell short by £3,000,000. CUSTOMS AND EXCISE. Customs and excise revenue was estimated to produce a total of £253,000,000. The actual receipts exceeded this sum by £3,000,000, but of this about £2,000,0*00 is on account of the new impost duties under the Abnormal Importations Act, the Horticultural Products Act and the Imports Duties Act. POST OFFICE. The post office net revenue was £700,000 less than expected. There is a further shortage in receipts from

sundry loans and miscellaneous sources. These two latter heads were estimated at £5,820,000 and realised £4,372,000, the difference being due mainly to reduction in the amount paid to miscellaneous revenue from the exchange account. DEBT CHARGES. On the expenditure side the permanent debt charge as revised by the September Budget was fixed at £322,000,000, which included £32,500,000 for debt redemption. The whole of this has been issued and applied in the manner provided. SUPPLY SERVICES. On the supply services, substantial savings are shown. The original Budget estimate of last April was £439,000,000. In the revised financial statement of last September this was increased to £473,800,000 owing mainly to the decision to stop borrowing for unemployment insurance and roads, but before taking into account the economies proposed in the second Budget. These economies were estimated to save £70,000,000 in a full year and £22,000,000 in the remainder of the current year. In point of fact the exchequer issue has proved to be £439,200,000, showing a saving of £300,000 on the revised estimate. The total saving in the past year therefore amounted to £34,500,000. The total expenditure of £770,500,000 was thus £12,500,000 less than was estimated in the revised Budget. CREDITS. In regard to Treasury credits, it is learned that bille amounting to 30,000,000 dollars which matured on the 29th in New York have been repaid and a balance amounting to 900,000,000 franco of credit given by the Consolidation of French Banks has been paid off. In each case the Treasury retains the right to reborrow until twelve months after the grant of credits in August and September last. The loan of 2,500,000,000 francs from the French public has not been paid.