NATIONAL FINANCE

Taranaki Daily News, 12 July 1929, Page 9

NATIONAL FINANCE

REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE.

NEED. FOR ECONOMY.

(By

“Taxpayer.”)

When Sir Joseph Ward announced to an audience in Auckland at the beginning of last month that the public accounts for the financial year showed a deficit of some £557,000, and implied that it would bo necessary to cover the deficit by increased taxation, he had not had time nor opportunity to look very closely into tho condition of the Treasury. Since then, however, ho has had the full figures before him and doubtless has realised that their singnificanee is not exactly what he had supposed it to be. The figures for the financial years 1927-28 and 1928-29 are confused by the removal of the Post and Telegraph Account from the Consolidated Fund Account in the latter year. To arrive at a fair comparison between these two years it is necessary to deduct from the 1927-23 figures the expenditure of the Post and Telegraph, which, as just stated, did not appear in the 1928-29 figures, a sum of £2,974,838. This process shows that in 1927-28 the expenditure, department by department, was £22,528,375, and in 1928-29 £24,448,368, an increase of £1,919,993, £l,305,240 arising from permanent appropriations and £554,752 from annual appropriations. The increase in permanent appropriations was due chiefly to inter-. est, pensions and so forth and the increase in annual appropriations to education, agriculture, rural ' intermediate credits and unemployment relief. Dealing with the revenue accounts in the same way—that is by deleting the Post and Telegraph figures—it will be seen that the net revenue in 1927-28 was £22,228,720, and in 1928-29 £23,599,675, an increase for the year of £1,370,955. The estimated revenue for 1928-29 was £23,868,250, so that the actual amount fell £268,575 short of the Minister’s expectations. The net revenue obtained from the Post and Telegraph in 1927-28 was no less than £1,026,200, while in 1928-29 under the new arrangement, it was only £428,000, sufficient, it was estimated, to coyer interest on the capital employed by tho department. 'Taking all the figures that have been indicated into account, it seems that what is needed at tho present juncture is not increased taxation to swell the revenue, but greater economy to reduce tho expenditure. Mr. Massey was confronted by a similar problem in 1920-21. The expenditure had risen to £28,173,730, but at that time both Railway and Post and Telegraph expenditure, amounting to £8,799,360, swelled the account, and the expenditure, computed on the basis of to-day amounted to no more than £19,379,370. Mr. Massey set out to effect economics by which he hoped to save five millions, and towards this goal he made very considerable progress. Sijice then, exclusive of Railways and Post and Telegraph, the expenditure has increased by over five millions. No doubt the Prime Minister is in possession of information concerning the finances of the country which is not available to many of his critics, but with all the. advantages he may enjoy in this respect it is of the first importance that he should make no further demands on tho taxpayers that can be possibly avoided. It is unnecessary to remind him that- taxation, however carefully it may be imposed, rarely rests on the shoulders by which, it could be most easily borne. Sooner or iater, directly or indirectly, the great bulk of it reaches the mass of the people in their varying grades. It is required of the Government, at any rate, that is should thoroughly explore tho whole position before imposing additional taxation.