SATISFACTORY TREND

Wairarapa Times-Age, 19 June 1942, Page 4

SATISFACTORY TREND

DISCLOSED IN PUBLIC ACCOUNTS REVENUE REMARKABLY BUOYANT. ESTIMATED TAX YIELDS MUCH EXCEEDED. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. A surplus of £1,672,000 for the financial year ended March 31 last is disclosed in the public accounts for that period published in a special “Gazette” issued last evening. Details are given of revenue and expenditure of the Consolidated Fund, the Social Security Fund, and the War Expenses Account. The Acting-Minister of Finance, Mr Fraser, said that in reviewing the accounts as a whole one impressed with the general buoyancy ‘ of revenue, and with the fact that in total the expenditure had been kept well within the Budget estimates. Total expenditure from the Consolidated Fund amounted to £39,569,000, as compared with a Budget estimate of £39,523,000. The surplus has been derived from additional revenue, Customs tax receipts exceeding the estimate by over £400,000. Income tax receipts (which amounted to £16,512,000) exceeded the estimate by £412,000. Expenditure in the War Expenses account amounted to £52,440,000 against an estimate of £64,100,000. Mr Fraser said this position was due to delay which had occurred in the receipt of claims from overseas. To finance the war expenditure a total cf £21,937,000 was obtained from the special war taxation (national security tax, etc.), as compared with the Budget estimate of £19,346,000. A further £3,226,000 was received by transfer from the Consolidated Fund, while miscellaneous receipts of £3,918,000 and a contribution of £51,000 from the Government of Fiji (toward the cost of the defence of that colony), resulted in total revenue receipts of £29,132,000. Loan moneys accounted for the balance of the expenditure. The total loans raised amounted to £31,767,000, of which £8.243,000 was obtained from the United Kingdom Government under the memorandum of security agreement, the balance being raised in New Zealand. During the year, however, war debt totalling £7,351,000 was repaid, leaving a net increase in the war debt for the year of £24,416,000. Mr Fraser said the accounts indicated a very satisfactory trend, which he was satisfied would continue into the present financial year.