NO EXCESS REVENUE

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 837, 4 December 1929, Page 10

NO EXCESS REVENUE

CUSTOMS YIELD EXTRA PRIMAGE JUSTIFIED Press Association Y\ ELLINGTON, Tuesday. No appreciable excess of r*v«n from Customs is at present *** sight, according to a st»t«m.M issued by the Prime Minister, »■ Joseph Ward, who defends the j r T creased primage duty. ■lt will be remembered," sai(l Joseph, “that in estimating the Bucg n for the current year T pointed out ihu T had to face the necessity f or obt .. ing a revenue return of £ 1,510,000 tv ' and above the revenue receipts of pi previous year, and an analysis of a,J amount was given by me in the Hou»« last session, shoe ing that £ 577,000 required in the first place owing to ths deficit in tho ordinary revenue account of the Consolidated Fund, almost wholly for increased interest and other rigid items, and £260 Ms allowed for Supplementary Estimate* I also pointed out that these additional receipts could not bo expected in auto, matic increases from present tasex and that to ensure a balanced Rudset I had to consider extra taxation and take no risks of failing to secure th. estimates of revenue compiled by ef perts and presented to me.

“The Customs revenue last year almost wholly in the last quarter. faiLa to realise its estimate by £307,000 main factor in bringing about the’ d e licit. I notice it lias been stated that Customs may bo expected to yield th, extra £450.000 required by the Budget without the assistance of the extra £300,000 estimated from additional primage duty. Complete figures to the end of November are not available, but the Treasury returns for the seven months to the end of October certainlv do not justify such a statement. '

“Apart from the duty on tyres and motor spirits, which goes to highways and does not assist the general Budget Customs revenue for the seven months amounted to £4.970.820. Seventwelfths of tiie estimate for the year would amount to £4,900.000, so that the excess receipts including tho additional primage amounted to 0n1£70.820 £70.820 .

“The position is that it is impossible to say with any degree of certainty what the Customs revenue is coins to bo during any month or period of months,” the Prime Minister added “and at this juncture it is very j m .’ portant that there should be no risk of failure to realise the yearly estimate at March 31.”