NATIONAL FINANCE

Hokitika Guardian, 15 July 1929, Page 7

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 be necessary to cover tho deficit by increased taxation he had not had time nor opportunity to look very closely into the condition of the Treasury. Since then, however, he has had the full figures before him and doubtless has realised that their significance is not exactly what he had supposed it to be. The figures for the financial years 1927and 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 1927-28 figures the expenditure of the 1928-29 figures, a sum of £2,974,888. 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,. £1,305,240 arising from permanent appropriations and £554,753 from annual appropriations. Tli© increase in permanent appropriations was due chiefly to interest, 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 tho net revenue in 1927- was £22,228,720 and in 192829 £23,599,675, an increase for *.he year of £1,370,955. The estimated revenue for 1928-29 was £23,868,250, so that the actual amount fell £2bß,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- under the new arrangement, it was only £428,000, sufficient, it was estimated, to cover interest on the capital employed by the Department. Taking all the figures that have been indicated into account it seems that what is needed at the present juncture is not increased taxation to swell the revenue, but greater economy to reduce the expenditure. Mr Massey was confronted by a similar problem in 1920-21. The expenditure bad risen to £28,173,730, but at that time both Railway and Post anc. Telegraph expenditure, amounting t' £8,799,360, swelled the account, and the expenditure computed on tne basis of to-dav amounted to no more than £19,379,370. Air Massey set out to effect economies by which be hoped to save five millions, and towards this gaol he made very considerable progress. Since 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 further demands on the 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 later, directly, or indirectly, the great bulk of it readies the mass of the people in then varying grades. It is required of the Government, at any rate, that 11 should thoroughly explore the whole position before imposing additional taxation.