THE BUDGET

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19783, 26 April 1934, Page 8

THE BUDGET

DEFICIT OF ABOUT £700,000 TAX REVENUE EXCEEDS ESTIMATE By Telegraph—Press Association AUCKLAND, April 25. A deficit of about £700,000 instead of the ’£2,000,000 originally contemplated was the result of the budgetary operations for the year ended March 31 last according to a statement made by the Minister of Finance (Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates) to-night. Mr Coates said that the transactions for the year had now been cleared through the Treasury, but some financial adjustment had still to be made and the accounts had yet to be audited. Subject to any variations arising therefrom the revenue for the year in round figures was £23,500,000, an increase of about £1,200,000 over the Budget estimate. “Until the entries are completed and the accounts audited it is not advisable to give details,” said Mr Coates, “but I may say that practically every item of taxation exceeded the estimate, while as a result of the improvement in the railways finances considerably more was received by way of interest than was anticipated when the Budget was prepared. Nevertheless a large portion of the interest burden of the railways is still being met by the taxpayer. Savings in Expenditure. The expenditure for the year amounted to approximately £24,200,000. This showed a saving of more than £200,000 which was mostly made under annual votes as a result of the sustained efforts to achieve the utmost economy in every item of expenditure. “The net result is a deficit in the vicinity of £700,000 or about one-third of what was anticipated when the Budget was brought down, continued Mr Coates. “Having regard to the economic conditions, this result can be regarded as very satisfactory. The buoyancy in revenue and the general improvement shown give a fairly reliable indication that economic conditions are improving, and that although progress may be somewhat slow in the meantime, we are definitely on the up grade.”