FEDERAL BUDGET

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22819, 28 August 1937, Page 13

FEDERAL BUDGET

DEFENCE £11,500,000 PENSION RATES INCREASED ESTIMATED SURPLUS £30,000 By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright (Received August 27, 0.15 p.m.) CANBERRA, August 27 The Commonwealth Treasurer, •Mr. R. G. Casey, announced in his Budget speech to-day that there would be no reduction of Federal taxation. The revenue this year was estimated to produce £85,190,000 and the expenditure was expected to be £85,160,000, leaving a surplus of £30,000. Old age, invalid and'' war service pensions are to be increased from 19s to £1 a week. A record sum of £11,500,000 will be spent on defence this year; Of the total £2,500,000 will como from loan money, £6,000,000 from the Budget, and the remaining £3,000,000 from the Defence Trust Account. For the promotion of the health of women and children £IOO,OOO will be provided. The Government, said Mr. Casey, was giving close attention to national unemployment and health, insurance and pensions, and was providing £75,000 toward the initial expenses inaugurating its policy. For the apple and pear industry £65,000 would be provided as a subsidy on exports, and 2s a case would be paid on exported oranges, grapefruit and lemons.

Road grants to the States would amount to £3,739,000, while overseas trade and travel publicity would absorb £60,000. Mr. Casey said it was estimated Australia's total credits were sufficient to settle all overseas liabilities and add £20,000,000 to the London reserves. Of the defence vote £3,616,000 will go to the Navy, £3,264,000 to the Army, £2,672,000 to the Air Force, £1,039,000 to munitions, and the remaining £909,000 to civil aviation.

The estimated totals of revenue and expenditure for 1937-38, appearing in the Commonwealth Budget, are substantially higher than the corresponding figures in recent years. A comparison of the estimates for this year with the actual results in the three preceding it is shown in the following table:— Revenue Expenditure Surplus £ £ £ 3034-35 . 76,252,000 75,541,000 711,000 193.5-36 . 82,203,000 78,636,000 3,567,000 1036-37 . a 3,090,000 81,813,000 1,277,000 1937-38 . 85,190,000 85,160,000 30,000 Remissions of taxation estimated to cost £3,868,000 for the remainder of 1936-37 and £5,275,000 in a full year were granted last year. All salaryreductions affecting members of the Federal Government service were restored in full, and invalid and old age pensions were increased from 18s to 19s a week. A sum of £BO,OOO was provided to supplement the returns from the export of apples and pears, and a subsidy of 2s a case on oranges exported to all countries except New Zealand was promised.