REVENUE FALLS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23619, 1 April 1940, Page 13

REVENUE FALLS

% CUSTOMS RETURNS FIGURES FOR YEAR g ; DECLINE OF £208,564, A decline in all collections, with the |!f exception of beer excise and sales tax, ?,!, is shown ia the aggregate revenue collected by the Customs Department at Auckland during tlie financial year • which ended on Sa'turday. The figures for last month also showed a substantial fall in comparison with March, 1039, the drop being most marked in the revenue from customs, motor spirit and tyre duty. The collections from all sources during the year dropped by £205,564 to £5,602,'403. For the past 12- months the customs figure was £3,365,359, in comparison with £3,585,837, in 1938-39, a decline of £220,478. As 84d of the motor spirit duty is now included in the getjeral customs "receipts, over £799,000 from the tariff on motor fuel has been incorporated in this section since August 1, when the petrol duty was increased by another' 'ld a gallon. Consequently, the comparative fall in customs revenue over the full financial year is much greater than the statistics indicate. Return From Sales Tax For tlie latter six months of the year collections from motor spirit and tyres have generally been below those of the previous year, the total for 1.12 months, calculated on the old rate of 6tl a gallon, being £891,355, as against £939,433 in 1938-39. Substantially increased revenue in the earlier part of the year was chiefly responsible for bringing up the total from the sales tax to £I,OS 1,287, which is slightly ahead of the previous year's figure. Beer excise was again a buoyant item, the collections for ,the 12 months increasing by £51,094 to £264,402. Receipts for the financial i'ear ended on Saturday, as compared with the previous year r are as follows: 1939-40 1935-3!) / Customs . . . . £3,305,359 £3,555,537 - Motor spirit and tyres 891,355 939,433 Totals .. £4,256,711 £-1,525,270 Excise on beer .. 201,102 213,30S Sales tax ~ .. 1,051,257 1,072,389 Grand total ..£5,602.403 £5(810,967 ;i; The customs revenue for last month amounted to £242.379 —of which £93,301 was actually derived from the petrol duty—as compared with £252,827 last year. When calculated at . the old rate of 6d a gallon, the return from petrol importations was also substantially lo'.ver, while tyre duty yielded little more than half of the amount gained in March, 1939. The sales tax figure fell, by £5151 to £81,0284 but the excise on beer contributed £27,755, an increase of £BBO2. Figures for March The March figures were as follows: 1940- 1939 Customs Motor Spirit, 6d .. 65,861 01,29!) Tyre duty .. .. 592 1,007 £305.532 £375.223 Excise on beer .. 27,755 18,953 p; .Bales tax .*. . 81.02S 86.179 Totals .. ..' £-117.615 £480.355 The following are monthly returns of customs'duty. petrol and tyre taxes and sale** tax for the past two financial years:— CUSTOMS V ~ 1939-10 1938-39 April .. .. £255,566 £259,420 May .. „. 31S.OSS 285,276 June .v .. 282,022 ' 250,028 July .. ;.. 252.0(56 277.102 August .. '200,427 310.001 September .. 305,736 274.987 October .. ,233,409 343.520 November .. '277.566 330,002 ;; December .. 273,033 340,773 January .. 305,240 297,146 February .. 205.027 317.595 March. .. ( 242.379 282,527 £3.365,359 £3.585.837 Other Monthly Totals sale's tax „ ' 1939-40 1938-39 April .. • • £95,428 £84,651 May .. «• ) 91,750 81,557 June .. .. 102.997 86.208 Julv -. . • 84,737 80,213 V''-i August .. 84,804 85.447 September .. 84,269 So.-O-j October .. / 98,069 November .. 0*2.04 0 9<,38.{ December .. 97,053 00,944 January .. 03,825 o^._l>o February .. 74,687 §2'?-^ March .. 81.028 80.1.9 £1,051,287 £1.072,389 I MOTOR SPIHIT AND TYRE ' DUTIES 1939-10 1935-39 April .. .. '' £70,813 £71,221 Mav .. .. 87,788 81,589 June .'. 78,-113 70,466 Julv 1 !. .. ' 72:234 61.408 August 75,!178 September .. ' 1 .*>B« -'i'A-o October .. j on'oaf November .. r,'„ 01 o<H December .. ea'ear - Janunrv .. 80,00-' l B—,OSf> ' February .. March • • 00,1. >3 9-,3.)6 "C 891,355 £939.433 For comparative purposes, motor spirit tax is-calculated in these tables at the old rate of 6d a gallon, the balance, which amounts to B§d, being included in the ordinary customs v revenue. , SHARP DROP IN MARCH WELLINGTON, EXPERIENCE [BY TELKGKAI'H —PRESS ASSOCIATION] WELLINGTON, Sunday Customs returns for the financial year ended March 31 show a decrease of approximated £322,000 on the'figures for 1938-39, or roughly 8J per cent. Muchsharper proportiohate decreases aro shown in the figures lor March, compared with March last year, Beer duty, however, shows an increase for March and for the financial year. Details for March, with those tor / March, 1939, in parentheses, are:— Customs, £245,190 (£321,026); sales tax, £93,675 (£131,744); beer, £8668 (£6091): tyres, £1330 (£209/); war tax, customs, £29,704 ( ); beer, - £1237 (—); gold, £3 (—) i mot()r spirits, £37,936 (£54,581). Figures for the financial year, witli those for 19138-39 in parentheses, aro as follows: —Customs, £'s,4Ju (£3,739.399); sales tax, (£1.379,187): beer, £96.697 (£B/ ,/68); motor spirit, * at 6d, £518,48.1 (£554,112); tyres, £19.286 (£30,816), war tax, £166,372 ( —). £2,161,467 AT pHRISTCHUROH SMALL INCREASE FOR YEAR [BY TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION] ' : " CHRISTCHURCH, Saturday The Customs revenue for the year ended March 31, 1940, a small increase on the total for the preceding 12 months. Tlie aggregate of * £2,161,467 is a rise'of £3753 on the figure for the 1933-39 financial year. The full effects of import restrictions and of curtailment in the use of petrol are not shown in the year's figures, but they certainly affect the comparative figures lor Mareh. In March of this yertr Customs receipts . amounted to £68.641. a big drop from the total of £100.847 during March. 1939, while the petrol tax figure of £22,819 for the mouth just closing is a substantial decrease on the sum<of £31,121 for March Inst year. The item that shows an advance for March is too beer tax, which has gone i»p from last year's total of £11,825 j fov theiinontli -to ,£18,073.