THE BRITISH EXCHEQUER

Hokitika Guardian, 4 January 1932, Page 2

THE BRITISH EXCHEQUER

NINE MONTHS’ FIGURES. NO CAUSE FOR DESPONDENCY. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, December 31. The Exchequer return for the first three-quarters of the current financial year which ends on March 31st next, has been made available lor publication. They reveal an excess of expenditure over revenue to date of £203,753,000, or about £23,000,000 more than at the corresponding date in 1930. An excess of expenditure over revenue at this time ol the year is a perfectly normal feature of these returns and is due entirely to the fact that nearly three-quarters of the income is not received until the last quarter of the financial year. The increase in the deficit, com pa rod with last year is in - fact, no greater than could be covered by the special receipt of £23,000,000 due to be paid into tlie Exchequer from the exchange account in the course of the next quarter. Apart from this, a very largo proportion of the new taxation, totalling £40,300,000, imposed by the supplementary Budget of September, falls to he collected in the last quarter of tlie financial *y ear -

As for expenditure, the total provision—for debt, interest, and Sinking Fund—was fixed by the September Budget afc £322,0;>T,CU0, of which £275,784,000 has been issued to date or supply services The revised Sept-end•••!■ !; • 1■ - 'owed a total of £4sl,Boo.ikivJ <uter due provision f<*r anticipated economies, compared with tlie actual expenditure in 1930 of £429,850,000. The actual expenditure on supply services to date, however, is almost exactly the same as that of the corresponding period last year. It cannot be inferred that the total expenditure for tlie year will show no excess over last year. Such a result could hardly be expected in view ot tlie transfer to the Budget of charges for the Unemployment Insurances Fqiid, and the Road Fund, previously made by borrowing. The position as regards expenditure, however, is more promising than at the time when the September Budget was framed, and the view is held in well-informed quarters that, so far as can be foreseen at this early stage, there is no special feature in the returns to cause undue despondency.