NATIONAL WEALTH

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25735, 5 January 1945, Page 2

NATIONAL WEALTH

THE LATEST FIGURES ASSETS OF THE STATE The value of State property in the Dominion, on a rough approximation, was £270,000,000 on March 31, 1938. Later information is not available. But, according to the Government Statistician (Mr J. W. Butcher), during the three years up to March 31, 1941, the increase in indebtedness in respect to items included was £32,000.000, and State assets at that same date might be assessed at £300,000,000.

In arriving at an estimate of the aggregate public wealth of the Dominion, as distinct from private wealth, the Statistician says in the New Zealand Official Year Book that it was necessary to take into account the assets of local authorities. Those, including sinking funds, approximated £96,000,000 in 1938. and £102,000,000 at the end of the financial year in 1941. Estimate of Public Wealth

It should be noted, however, says Mr Butcher, that about £7,500.000 of the local authorities’ total indebtedness in 1941 was owing to the General Government, and allowance had to be made for that sum. The public wealth of the Dominion that year, therefore, would be £300,000,000, plus £102,000,000, minus £7,500,000., or a net total of approximately £395,000,000. Based on the estate and death figures for the triennium 1938-40, the aggregate private wealth for the Dominion at the end of 1940 is calculated at £718,000.000. of which £497,000,000 represented the wealth of men, and £221.000,000 that of women. Excluding Maoris, the total was equal to £458 per head of population, and £683 per head of population if only those aged 20 and over were taken into account. .... , “It is obvious that estimates of private wealth based on the probate system are approximate only,” says the Government Statistician, “owing to the various factors involved. For example, part of the wealth of deceased estates consists of insurance policies. In the probate returns the maturity value of the policy was taken, whereas among the living the average surrender value of policies in force was much below the maturity value. Against that, however. was the fact that pensions and annuities enjoyed by the living did not enter into deceased estates, while there was also a tendency towards conservatism in the valuation of personal property for death duty purposes. Further, a not inconsiderable amount o* property was disposed of before death by way of gift. and. of course, does not appear in the probate returns.’ Mr Butcher’s computation of private wealth related to t*ie New Zealand population exclusive of Maoris. The inclusion of Maoris, he points out, would not affect the per caput rate to any extent, but would involve an addition to the total. An addition for Maoris of 4 per cent, to the-aggregate figure previously given for 1940 would bring the estimated private wealth of the Dominion at that date to £747,000.000. Of the- gross indebtedness of the General Government in 1941, £l9O 000,000 was domiciled within New Zealand. Of the gross debt of local governing bodies, including hospital boards, £50.000,000 was domiciled in the Dominion, exclusive of the £7,500,000 borrowed from the General Government. The debt of the General Government and all local authorities domiciled within the country aggregated £240.000,000. which required to be deducted from the aggregate of public and private wealth in order to arrive at an estimate of the national wealth.

Net Total of £905,000,000

The approximate public wealth was, therefore. £395,000,000. and the estimated private wealth £750,000,000, or a total of £1,145,000,000. Against that of course was the public and local authority debt domiciled within the Dominion of £240.000,000. The estimated national wealth would be approximately (after making the deduction) £905,000.000.

“ No practicable system has yet been devised that will permit of a reliably close estimation of national wealth being arrived at, and the difficulties in this respect are increased enormously during a period of changing values,” Mr Butcher observed when pointing out that he could give only a rough approximation of the national wealth.