BUDGET BREVITIES.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 5 July 1923, Page 3

BUDGET BREVITIES.

. « RESULTS OF LAST FINANCIAL YEAR. . The following summary of results of the last financial year is" taken from the Budget: Consolidated .Fund—Revenue £27,----579,443, expenditure £26,263,760, excess of revenue over expenditure £1,315,683, revenue in excess of estimate £1,329,443. 1 Expenditure below that of previous year, £2,203,078. Transferred; to Loans Redemption A6e6ant, £3,159,960. Balance iorward at March 31, 1923, £5,637,000. Economies effected since 1921, £3,----735,049. Accumulated revenue " surpluses reduced by transfers to—Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Account £13,500,000, Soldiers' Depreciation Fund Account £150,000, Public Works Fund £500,000, Reserve Fund (London) £1,200,000, loans redemption £3,719,971: total £19,069,971. Total amount of interest-bearing investments of surnjus revenue, £17,260,----000; earnings, _712,870. Public works expenditure, £3,912,----886. Accrued profit on investments in British War Loan 5 ncr cent stock, ■ £140,777. Loans matured, redeemed, and renewed, £9,004,986. No Treasury bills outstanding. Gross Customs and excise revenue, £6,769,873. Increase over estimate in Customs and excise revenue, £959,373. Exports,. £45,548,700. Imports, £37,112,779. Inland Revenue Department—Land tax £1,541,502, income tax £3,831,932, stamp and death duties £3,581,291; total £8.954,725. Land and income tax concessions, £929,100. Working railways—Receipts £6,727,----802, expenditure £5,502,497, net revenue £1,225.305. Earned on capital cost, £3 0s lOd per cent. Post and Telegraph—Receipts £2,----705,030, exoenditure* £2,112,54*3, excess of re-eipts £592,487. Post Office Savings Bank—Number of depositors. 690,790. Amount at credit, £42.754.868. Average each depositor, £644s 4d. War loan certificates 7-edeemed to March 31, 1923, £3,349,074. Land Settlement —Total area offered for - settlement to March .31, 1923, 1,397,339 acres. Total native lands purchased 1922-23, 51,523 acres. Discnarged Soldiers" Settlement Account —Advan.es authorised during year £868.650. Tvca: advances authorised, £21,278,221. Repayments, et\, • £2,----870,332. Arrears of payments re'luced. Instalments postponed where circumstances warranted relief. Gross receipts, 1922-23, £1,431,353. • Total capital provided for discharged'soldiers settlement purposes, £26,148.000. Repatriation—Number assisted, 63,----108. Ad*'awed. ■ £2,329,992. Repayments, £1,280,545, or 65 per cent. Assistace continued to disabled soldiers. Agriculture—Total value of produce exported, £42,248,751, or 93 per cent of total expors. Record export of cheese, 63.000 tons, valued at*£'s.4B4,----417. Record export of butter, 60,000 tons, valued at £10,324,569. 'Area sown in wheat, 285,000 acres. Improved prices for. agricultural products maintained. Number of sheep in Dominion increased'by 706,605, from 22,222,259 to 22,928,864. Increased demand for Nauru phosphates. Immigration—Satisfactory agreement with British Government; passage rates reduced from £26 to £18 ncr adult. Defence expenditure - -New .(-Zealand Military Forc.es—£2Bs,ll3. War expenses—Net expenditure during year, £166,799. Naval Defence expenditure—£293,----244. j Education expenditure, £3,203,207; increased school accommodation provided; expenditure on school " buildings since I^lß-19, £1,698,304. £429,444 paid in subsidies to Hospital and Charitable Aid Boards. State Advances—Advanced during year, £2,567,820. Advanced during four 1 years to March 31, 1923, £6,109,030. I Pensions paid during year, £2,589,----838. I Annual liability for war pensions— £1,349,857. Medical treatment of discharged 501- --.,' die's undertaken by Pensions Department. | government Ii cc Insurance—New business for year, £1,286.609. Total insurance, £17,449,101. Total income, 1922, £778,915. Accumulated funds, £5,922,825, largest yearly increase in funds. State Fire Insurance—lncreased profit ; reduced expense ratio. Net nrofit, (£46.402. " , " j National Provident Fund—Contribui tors, 22,200. Maternity allowances paid, £39,000.. Funds, £?'90,000. Public Service Superannuation Fund —Revenue for year, £573,903. Expended, 346 454. Investments at March 31, 1923, £1,799,041. Railways Superannuation Fund—Revenue for year, £230,689. Expended, ; £178,470. Investments, £584,219. j Teachers' Superannuation- Fund— • Revenue (13 months), £216,934. Expended (13 months), £119,075. Investments, £779,636. Public Trust Office investments increased to £16,426,324, Western Samoa —Improved trade. Improvement in system of purchase and control of stoi'es. Free-of-income-tax securities out- ■| standing reduced by £4,891,445 during year. . j ,_ Cost of management of New Zealand j ins'ribed stock, London, reduced; rej fund of £30,676 obtained. Bank of England charges for issuing I new -loans reduced from 5s to 2s 6d per cent. 1923 loan of £4,000,000 successfully floated at 4 per cent issued at 92; high credit of Dominion endorsed by London financial circles. • Funding of debt (£27,532,164) to British Government completed on 6 per cent annuity basis. Public debt: Gross debt at March 31, 1923, £218,953.324—0rdinary £116,067,----273, soldiers £9,759,216. war £80,563,----885, State Advances £12,562,950; total £218,953,324. War debt reduced, et?., £1,279,658. Redeemed (including war debt} £8,----466,201, total loans during year £8,365,----140, net decrease in debt during year £101,061. Sinking funds- accrued, £11,879,256. Tangible assets of State, £195,000,----000. ' £1,000,000 obtained at 3 per cent try i the issue of. temporary securities for res demption purposes, with a saving of mll terest for the year of £20,000. | Reserve Fund securities cleared oi « liability of £800,000. _ Third deduction from the cost-of-liv-ing increases not made. Taxation per head of population reduced from £17 14s 44 in 1921 to £1] 17s 8d in 1923. Ten years' progress of the Dominion— f Increase in: Ponnlation, -19.23 pei ■ cent; total trade, 83 per centj'tota , exports, 98 per cent; frozen meal (volume), 37 per cent; frozen meal 1 (value), 115 per cent; wool (volume) • 71 per cent; wool (value), 67 ocr cent* butter (volume), 196 per cent; but tei (value), 333 per cent; cheese (volume) 101 p§r cent; cheese (value), 179 p«i

oeut; new telegraph and telephone : lines, 30 per cent; telephone snbscrib- ; ers, 156 per cent; roads and bridges ex- . penditure. 91 per cent; • swamp land areas reclaimed, 474 per cent. POINTS FROM THE ESTIMATES. (By Telegraph.—Special to Star.) :i WELLINGTON, July 4. 1 The war expenses account provides ] for a further expenditure of £634,000, . ' Which includes ,'_475,000 liability to the . Imperial shipping liquidation as passs age money or New Zealand troops^ re- ■ conditioning vessels, etc. The claims of ' the Imperial shipping liquidation ! against New Zealand total approxi- ; mately one million, against which will be set off about £500,000 due to New I Zealand for carriage of Imperial troops in New Zealand hospital ships. New Zealand's proportion of the War Graves ■ Commission requires a vote of £30,000. this being in proportion to the number of New Zealand dead. Battlefield memorials are under erection at the Somme. Messiues, Passchendaele, Le Quesnoy, in Palestine, and at Anzac, and a vote of £22,000 is required. Another vote is £4000 for the provision and erection of war grave headstones ! in New Zealand. j The naval defence vote (£308,699) is j £27,000 above last year's expenditure. 'The defence vote for training last year totalled £37,545, but, the current vote I is £65.534, the additional amount bein % 'required for rations and the transport of troops attending camp for training. ■ The expenses of the general election totalled ±_3,b08 —preparation and printing of rolls £45,281, licensing elections . £11,249-— while the Electoral Depart- ! ment, postage and telegraph . bill amounted to £11,758. The fruit exporters' guarantee resulted in an expenditure last year of ' £10,693. The current season's guarantee covers expenses of export only and \ ! the vote is £2000. New Zealand's first and second contributions to ti. t © British Empire Exhibition amount to £45,000, of which £30.000 is for buildings. I The Industries and Commerce Depart. j ment has a £25,000 vote to establish < credit for wheat purchase. Last year the vote under this head was £240,000 and the amount expended ,£233,902! An apparent debt of £64,021 on the year's operations is explained as being due to the carry-over of wheat to be , realised this season.