THE REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE

Otago Witness, Issue 953, 25 April 1889, Page 14

THE REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE

. A- NET SURPLUS OP £66,000. . „,,. WEttiNGTON, April 18, The accounts' for the colony for the financial year .ending 31st March are now ' ootriple^d, | shottrrag^'a" surplus! tf,,far w We , consolidated fund, is concerned, of £77,000. ; Against this, however, may be placed a deficiency in -the land fund of £11,000, leaving :A f itet 1 surplus of £66,000, This^sajbisf kotory condition of eolbiual 'finances 'will, thY Prsnier states,^enable the G6v,ernmenti as promij&d 'to Parliame% to 3 use the full amount of primage duty in reduction of the public debt,' and then have a handsome balance- for the year. ' 1

t „ >. - v , ~ t April 21. lam ntfw Iri a position' t^ 1 give "'you the exaot figures showing the results 6f the fin'&oial year's operations, whioh have not yet been made public, which indeed were only made iupVfiuallyf last night. There is. a surplus: on the revenue and expenditure of the consolidated 'fund 'amounting to £77,318 3-s sd. On the land fund, however, .which is kept as a, separate accountj.there is a deficiency of £11,489 Qs 3d. The receipts under this head,. although somewhat larger than lait year, have failed to meet the expenditure of that department., The . land revenue .hass suffered considerably through the heavy arrears ohi the part of the deferred payment settlers, 1 whioh Parliament refused to allow the -Government to deal with. Deducting the land fund deficiency .from the consolidated fund surplus, a > net balance of £.66,328 7s 2d is:left <to >thefgood,<)but as the primage l duty,<whiohamounted'to i£46j132i £46jl32 fis 8d for theiseven months of its operation, -was specially, levied for the, .purpose of spaying ; off by instalments the balance of. the , old deficit left, by the Stout- VogeLi 'Ministry,* ; and is f> therefore ", earmarked "• • for r thtib t object, „this, this (has to be supplied,; and cannot be ased in aid of ordinary. revenue. Employing'this sum in paying off so much of the old deficit^ net balance remains of £20,196-ls 6d. This, then, is the ab.splutenietsurplnsf^rithb^ear, taking all the various. acoounts together and getting out the difference between receipts and expenditure. It will thus be seen that the amount of taxation needed, to make' bbth'ends meet, without expending" a larger sum than' was'jimperatively required, has been very [.qlosely 'estimated'. ci Comparing, the actual receinta with the estimates and' with last gear's receipt?! iso far as the chief revenue 1 items' are ppneerne^ the figures (shillings and pence being omitted) are as follows: — , , , . ' Customs yielded £1,459,608,; ,as againai £1,515,000 estimated by treasurer (£iJ,,471,000 by the' Customs department), and £1,251,651 for the previous year,- " ■ ;, „ , o •<>{ , Railways produced £1.001,134, groes reoeipts, as against £XQ4Q,OO0 i estimated, i^pd ( £PB^B2Q for the previous year. The rail^aysmet revenue was £360,016, as compared with' the estimate of £350,C0p. ' M-\'<Jr<* Stamps (including post .and telegraph cas£ receipts) gave £^00,^0. r .The .estimate was £613,700, and the previous "yearV reoeipts were £58.7,318. • ' ' • i- t '•■'•'•"^ ■ The property tax yielded, fi^.SgOV'the esth mate being £375,000, the previous year's receipts £376,5^8. The ' diflere^oe has ' already been explained as due to the <• writing dqwn,* 1 of qert'ain securities a^d other p'^OQert^es wh^c^ 'had haen formerly o/erv^lued. ■ ■_" ; The beer duty gave '£51,050,' as sgainst £51,000 estimated and £52,(100 actually receive^ the year, before. ' ' ' ' , ' Registration and other fees brought in £39,226, as against £37,500 estimated and £35,596 taken the year before. '' " '.' , t Marine is represented by £17,557 ; the estii mate being £17,000 and, last year's takings being £16,889. ' The item miscellaneous represents- n,o less than £64,338 ; whereas the estimate was only £46,000, the previous ; year's receipis being £35,860. • . ' * Territorial revenue- (exclusive of land sales) amounted to, £184,716; the estimate being £198,000, and the revenue' for the previoufiyekr £183,761. '

Thu3 the total revenue proper' for the' year was £8,791,833, as against" £3,521,490 the year before." ' ' • ''"" __ The expenditure under annual appropriations — that is, excluding the p'e'rm&nent charges—amounted to £1,891,921, as compared with £2,026,741 iv the preceding year., The following' figures show what . have been the respective departmental expenditures as compared with the estimates :— ' ' ' 1 ' "' BatiActual.l ' mat 4. legislative , • „, > M .£14,899 v dB 14,85$ Colonial Seorefcary ... - ... 100.698; , J00.13P $kWj ... •, ... ...,«,««.,...; &,m .Ttisti^ .:. ,;• „ .;. yfrjiZ- 103,0, Eosfa,l and 1 Telegraphic depart;- ' '",„ ' ' inent > ... * „; r ' .). 250,^36 269,251 Customs ..• «2,#t '7 " -25,99$ Stamps ♦;. 23,807" 54.911 Education. ... .V. 377,858..' 3,18,974 Native .... .;; ... 15,970 13.34? Working railway ... ... 641,118' WO.OW Defenoe .;. - ■ .',. 167,855' ; 158,668 "The expenditure of the Lands department }a so differently classified from the former 'sysfcein that no comparison can easily- be made.'