SOME INTERFSTING FIGURES.

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 18, 5 February 1937, Page 4

SOME INTERFSTING FIGURES.

In his capacity of Acting-Minister of Finance in the Hon. W. Nash's absence, the Prime Minister yesterday gave us some figures with regard to State revenue and expenditure for the first three quarters of the financial year that ends on 81st March next. From these he deduces a good deal of sqtisfaetion, which, hy the way, mav not be altogether shared by those who during the week have been receiving income-» tax cjemands very greatly in excess af those for last financial year. Especially will this be the case with those — and there 6 are a gooR few of them — of modest means who firtd themselves, wifch-out any increase of income, called upon to pay just abont twice as much, or more, than last yeaav The fignres given us are, of course, merely approximations, but no doqbt as such are fairly close. In the broad result they show that actual collections made for the nine months total something like ^2|-million more than for the corresponding months of the previous year. The whole of this excess, and a litle more, lias been derived from taxation, while the inpreased income and land taxes have still to be got in. Included in the items accounting for this are Customs duties and saies tax, to which small men as well as big have to contribute and which, between them, have gone up by well over £l|-million. Taking all in all, the Minister feels justified in congratulating himself on a fairly well assured prospect that tax;a,tion returns will at the close of the financial year come fully up to the estimates made by Mr. Nash in his Budget of last August. As a matter of fact, they look like producing a very much more "handsome" surplus than the modest £13,000 at whMih the Finance Minister professed to aim. Should this, as is almost certain, prove to be the case, then it will only serve to justify the Opposition criticism that circumstances did not warrant the imposition of the heavy increase s in income and land taxation upon which Mr. Nash insisted as neqessary to meet his new commitments. Looking at the other side of the picture, Mr. Savage points out that for the nine months under review expenditure has been some £2-miillion less than the proportionate threefourths of the "estimates" for the full year made by Mr. Nash. However, this is explained to be in great measure, if not dntirely, due to the fact that the March quarter outgoings are generally well in excess of those of any other, while certain items actually spent iast quarter have not yet come to account. The conclusion fairly to be dyawn is that, by the time the figures come to be made up to the end of next month, it will be found that the Government has not failed to spend at least up to the full of its liberail intentions as set out in the Budget. What, however, cannot but have struck even the casual reader is that while dealing with revenue Mr. Savage makes his comparison as between the respective actual realisations for the three quarters, but wlien it comes to the other side of the ledger he makes it as between his own Finance Minister 's estimates and actual spending. The reason for this seemingly strange change pf footing is n6t difficult to discover, for it is supplied by one of the tables a.ppended to Mr, Nash's Budget itself. Frpm this we learn, as may already very well have been forgotten by most, that the Finance Minister set out to provide for an expenditure of some £5-million — £4,913,245 to be exact — more than was spent during the immediatelv preceding year, during fpur months of which, too, the present Government had been in office. It can be readily understood why Mr. Savage would not be overranxious to emphasise this aspect of the position at a time when not a few of the smaller income-taxpayers who voted him into office are no doubt feeling somewhat "narked" at having to "shell out" very substantially more than under Mr. 'GoatesV last Budget. Mr. Savage, no less than any other that has gone befor® him, knows what is most pleasing to place in the forefront of the picture and what it is best to plape in the back background — * or keep out of it altogether.