Budget Surplus

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 109, 25 May 1937, Page 8

Budget Surplus

-P'HS t

m FINANCES ARE - SATISFACTORY £472,000 In Credit 1 For 1936-37 1NC0ME TAX EXCESS

CBy Telegraph-

"WELLINGTON, Last Night. The public accounts for ihe year bnded Mareh 31 have now been completed a&d subject to the audit examination, which i» now in progerss, the rarplua of revenue over expenditure totals £472,000. This announcement vras made to-day by Hon. P. Fraser, Acting-Minister of Finance. Tha detailed accounts will be published in a Gazette at a later date, but 4 in. the meantime the following ara the maia headings of revenue and" expendi* tuna compared* with the Budget esti-

•Shortage. In total the revenue exceeded the Budget estimate by only £80,000, although. individual items indicate a greater variation. Thus income tax and Gustoms exceeded the estimates by £619,000 and £399,000 reSpectively, which headings were mainly xesponsible for an excess of £924,000 in the total taxation. This excess was, however, joffset to an extent of £844,000 by shortages in interest recoveries and other xeceipts, resulting a nct excess of revenue of £80,000. In regard to expenditure, the year's resulta compared with anpropriations are as follows: —

*Excess expenditure. Thess statistics indicate expenditure to the extent of £243,000 in excess of appfopriations in respect of permanent appropriations and savings of £630,000 in annual appropriations, resulting in a net saving of'£387,G00. It will be seen f rom ..these results that the saving effected in regard to expenditure "was mainly responsible for tho total net surplus of £472,000 for the year. Income-tax and customs reflect the substautial improvement in business conditions generally, while on the other hand careful cohtrol has been maintaint ed over alL fonns of expenditure. In a preliminary announcement prior to his departnre for England the then ActingMinister of Finance (Mr. Savage) said that a surplus of £100,000 had been estimated. This amount was conservatively based on eleven months' results, whereas in fact the revenue for March exceeded expectatipns while the not saving in expenditure was greater than anticipated, resulting in the surplus now disclosed of £472,000. . "While we have every cause for satisfaction at the very gratifying outcome of the year's operatiOns, said Mr. Fraser, "the amount of the surplus is not by any means unduly large in view of the fact which must be born« in mind that for the current financial year provisxon must necessarily be made for & full year's charge on aecount of increases in salaries, wages and pensions, together with the additional cost of the shorter working week, all of :yhich were introduccd during the latter portion of the last linancial year. "Tho result o'f the financial year shows that, conditions are much better , in the Dominion than they were twelve i or eighteen months sago. Further proof of this fact can be'found in the savings J bank xfeturns which are always taken as a barometer indicating the standard of general prosperity in the Dominion. The position with regard thereto is as imder: — Deposits: 1934-35 £24,179,537; 1935- | 36 £23,619,775; 1936-37 £30,676,967. Withdrawals: 1934-35 £20,946,562; 1935-36 £23,533,595; 1936-37 £27,042,001. Excess of deposits over withdrawals: 1934-35 £3,232,975; 1935-36 £2,086,180: 1936-37, £3,634,966. • For the month of March, 1937, the excess of deposits over withdrawals was £366,667 compared with £147,553 for jpfvious year. - : ' h j

mates :-^- ' Taxation. Budget Revenue , , Estimate. Received. Excess. £ £ k Customs 9,100,000 9,499,000 399,000 Beer Duty ! 770,000 842,000 72,000 Hales Tax 2,900,000 3,045,000 145,000 Highways 2,512,000 2,503,000 9,000* Stamp and Death Duties 3,210,000 3,163,000 47,000* (Land Tax 1,300,000 1,048, 000 . 252, 000* 'Income Tax 6,000,000 6,619,000 619,000 Other ; ■Taxation 225,000 222,000 3,000* ' Totals 26,017,000 26,941,000 924,000 Interest 2,520 ' ' 2,387 133* Other Beceipts 2,530,000 1,819,000 711,000* Totals 31,067,000 31,147,000 - 80,000

3 .2 ® If b e cs s o 'g S § §* a. » g % ® .9 S ft & > Oft K A cuJ H m Debt Serviees 9,259,000 9,380,000 121,000* Highways 2,512,000 2,509,000 3,000 Exchange 1,455,000 R581,000 126,000* Other , - Services 619,000 618,000 " 1,000 Totals 13,845,000 14,088,000 243,000* Annual Appropriations. Social Service 10,484,000 -9,913,000 571,000 Other Votes 6,733,000 6,674,000 59,000 Totals 17,217,000 "16,587,000 630,000 . Total Expenditure 31,062,000 30,675,000 387,000