AUSTRALIA'S BUDGET.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18461, 26 July 1923, Page 7

AUSTRALIA'S BUDGET.

YEAR'S STrarajS, £1,250,00(>., INCOME TAX UNALTERED., .... ■ V & r vV.si' "CHEAPER : LETTER .POSTAGE. : ' By Teleffiaph—Press Association—Copyrisht. .'(Received 9.50 p.m.) " > ' A. and N.Z. ' MELBOURNE. July '25. Dr. Earle Page, Federal Treasurer, will deliver his first Budget on Thursday. .He will announce a surplus of approximately £7,700,000, of wh.ili " £6,400,000 hi cart ried over from last year. . [ The past year's revenue /exceeded: expenditure by • a litt'ie more than I £1,250,000 which was • mainly due to * | large increase in the customs and excite I revenue, amounting to .35,300,000 more than the estimate. ( Referring to the current the .Budi get will state that ,owing to huge ; commit- ' ments for war service..that, have still to be met, : amounting to; £30,000,000 . more than last year, there will be no reduction in the income, tax. It will announce a ' reduction J ;'n letter rates to which is made possible by : the postal revonua . exceeding ' expenditure by nearly . £2,000,000. . : A mark-time defence policy, involving no ■ new features will be- put forward ou the ground that nothing , should be done until after the' Imperial Conference. There will ba no alteration of tariff duties pending recommendations by the Tariff .Board.'* . . /.V : • The need- . for Va larger appropriation from present and; future : : surpluses for ,t«he sinking fund Ito pay off the Commonwealth's • indebtedness will bo emphasised.!