NEW ZEALAND’S REVENUE

Taranaki Daily News, 8 February 1928, Page 9

NEW ZEALAND’S REVENUE

DOMINION PUBLIC ACCOUNTS MORE REVENUE AND EXPENSES. MARCH TO DECEMBER FIGURES. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. An increase of over £lO,OOO is shown in the revenue for the nine months up to December 31, 1927, according to the public accounts which appear in a special gazette this week. The principal increases are in stamp and death duties, and in interest on railways’ capital liabilities, and the principal decreases are in Customs, land tax and post and telegraph revenue. Hitherto the Act required the publication quarterly of an abstract of revenue and expenditure of the preceding quarter. In accordance with the amending Act of last session, however, figures now published show the revenue and expenditure for the current financial year up to December 31, thus presenting a more complete statement of the position. The revenue received for the nine months amounted to £16,138,875, compared with £16,128,220 for the corresponding period last year, an increase of £10,655. The principal increases are stamp and death duties £170,121, interest on railways’ capital liabilities £122,034, and the principal decreases are Customs £134,761, post and telegraph £72,066 and land tax £75,638. The increase in the stamp and death duty occurs in death duties and gift duty, and is an ordinary fluctuation. The increase in interest on railways’ capital liability is due to an increase in capital liability and to the fact that the interest payments have been made earlier this year. The decrease in Custom’s revenue refleet s diminished imports and Was anticipated in assessing the estimated revenue for the year. The expenditure for the nine months was permanent appropriations £11,208,928, annual appropriations £7,025,287, a total of £18,234,217, compared with permanent appropriations £10,623,514, annual appropriations £6,998,230, a total of ‘£17,621,744. For the corresponding period last year there was an increase of £612,473, made up of permanent appropriations £585,414, and annual appropriations £27,059. In the permanent appropriations the principal items of increase are interest £124,727, Repayment of Public Debt Act, 1925, £295,000, under special Acts £153,568. Under the annual appropriations the main increases are Cook Islands £15,407, Defence Department £18,645, Department of Agriculture £29,299, Department of Education £45,223, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research £20,187 and the principal decreases public buildings £15,596, naval defence £74,239. The increase in interest is principally due to the interest payable on money raised during the financial year. The increase under the repayment of Public Debt Act is due to earlier payments under special lets. The principal increase is for subsidies to hospital and charitable boards, £49,000 and the balance is partly due to earlier payments.