THE COLONIST. PUBLISHED DAILY-MORNING. NELSON, TUESDAY, APR. 2, 1907. THE BRITISH REVENUE.

Colonist, Volume XLIX, Issue 11899, 2 April 1907, Page 2

THE COLONIST. PUBLISHED DAILY-MORNING. NELSON, TUESDAY, APR. 2, 1907. THE BRITISH REVENUE.

It says a great deal for the methods , in vogue in the Mother Country that it should be possible to obtain a return of tho revenue received ■ during the twelve months, on ! the last day of the financial year, ] and the particulars sent through the J cable are of extreme interest. In ■ passing we may point out that we ] are able to publish the returns of ■ the United Kingdom before those of 1 the Colony are to bßnd. It is true ! that in New Zealand the receipts and j expenditure in reßpeot to the State- i owned railways have to be brought * into account, but if the railwaya of * the United Kingdom] were State- I owned it may safely be asserted that a delay of only [a few hours would 1 suffice to make up the complete re- i turns. s The revenue of the United King- j, dom for the year 1906-7 has to- g tailed £144,814,000, which is close s. upon two millions sterling in excess £ of the estimated amount, for al- f. though, in the Budget, the • receipts n were placed at £144,860,000, on the b then existing basis of taxation, a £ reduction in the tea duty, calculated \y to be equal to a remission of revenue a: amounting to £920,000 was made, cj and the export duty on coal.estimated to be equal to one million sterl- c ing, was removed, while changes in d' the postal rates were expected to re- & duce the Post Office receipts by over two millions sterling. ■*■< The Cusoms revenue forthe year n , just closed was a little more than a w million and a quarter sterling below b« the receipts of the previous year, *? c but, having regard to the reductions made and alluded to above, the ac- su tual receipts exceeded anticipations co by a substantial sum. The estate duties incieased by £1,430,000; the m revenue from stamps fell off by £230,000; excise revenue increased h, ■8120,000.~With regard to property pi;

and income tax receipts an evident error has been made in the transmission of tbe message, fof the r%eeijfc;* 3D 10D3 6 were £31.350,000 whi-ii was a hundred t .<6iis.-md pounds in excess of the receipts in tbe preceding ,year> Tlio final calculations of the Chancellor i:f tbe Exchequer were that the revenue would roach a tofcal of .£142,835,000, and the expenditure £142,421,000, leaving a Wian'ee of £414,000. With the iucrensocJ rer ceips there ehould be> proVidi' g the ' expenditure has not exceeded autic:- . pations. a s<i*p!'.is of orer two rail- , lions sterling oa this basis, bat we are told that the Exchequer balance .is estimated at over fifteen million?, orliive millions more than on the 31s March, 1906. The returns indicate an eKoeedingly satisfactory condition, but it is noticeable that in a so-called yreetrade country the revenue from income and property tax was more than four millions Sterling below j the redeipts from Custom duties.""*"