BUDGETS COMPARED

New Zealand Herald, Volume 79, Issue 24370, 4 September 1942, Page 2

BUDGETS COMPARED

The figures of the Australian Federal Budget invite comparison with those in New Zealand, especially as far as war expenditure and the measures taken to meet it are concerned. This is, in fact, the only portion which can be compared without having to allow for so many unknown factors that the results are of little value. For instance, the Federal Treasurer said that from an expenditure estimated at £549,492,000, £440,000,000, or just over 80 per cent, was for war purposes. This seems impressively high. At first sight New "Zealand does not compare favourably, since 72.9 per cent of its total outgoings this year are on account of the war. However, it must be remembered that services which have to be financed in this country's national Budget are left to the States in Australia. Taking war expenditure alone, it amounts to £Bl 7s lid per head of the population this year in New Zealand, and to £63 9s lOd in Australia; but New Zealand's total includes £56,000,000 provided by the United Kingdom and by the United States under the Lease-Lend agreement. Whatever assistance Australia is getting in this way—and the Lend-Lease figure must be substantial—it does not appear in the Budget. The Federal Treasurer has already been criticised for failing to face the task of extracting sufficient from the community by direct taxation, and especially for leaving the lower incomes untouched. Whatever its short-comings the New Zealand Government cannot be similarly reproached. By levies, both direct and indirect, it has imposed on this community of 1,634,000 all told as much in new taxes this year as the Commonwealth expects to obtain from its 6,930,000 people. The New Zealander has been called on to bear a substantially higher burden than the Australian and feels it the more because of the demands made on him by a swollen civil budget.