PUBLIC ACCOUNTS

Stratford Evening Post, Issue 81, 10 August 1929, Page 5

PUBLIC ACCOUNTS

' PRIME MINISTER'S REVIEW, WELLINGTON, Last Night. Commenting on the Public Accounts for th© first quarter of the year, the Minister of Finance, Sir Joseph Ward, states that the figures of the first quarter are of little significance fromi a) comparative point of view, as they are-subject to considerable; fluctuation! from yeatt fto year for vart'ous reasons. "The revenue for the first quarter of this year amounted to £4,665,5)28, : as compared with £4,167,937 for the same) quarter last year, an increase of the ..Minister. "The {revenue from, Customs shows an increase of about .. £280,000, but considerably more improvement will have to be shown , ' during the next three quarters of the year if the Budget" estimate is to be reached. ' . "Revenue from petrol tax, tyro tax, etc., earmarked for highways, shows a £124,000 increase, ana stamp and death duties an. increase of £112,000. "Expenditure for the quarter was £6,3p0,5)12, compared, {(nth £5,722, \ 835 for the same period last year, an increase of £597,707. Practically the whole of the increase was un- ( der the heading of permanent appropriations but a comparison is of little value owing to change in the dates of large payments for interest affected by the conversion operations p and for debt repayments made earlijfter this year. W-> "Expenditure under annual voEes, wHoh is more compalrable, showed a small increase of £20,280, thus indicating that there i's little variation in departmental expenditure as compared, with the first quarter of last year,'' - ■