Manawatu Herald SATURDAY, JANUARY 10. 1920. AUSTRALIAN FINANCE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 2076, 10 January 1920, Page 2

Manawatu Herald SATURDAY, JANUARY 10. 1920. AUSTRALIAN FINANCE.

TOE public accounts of I lie f omimmweallh ;.in<l the six Australian States for the linaneia! year ended Jinie 30th, DUO, show an aggregate expenditure of about £00,500,000 charged againsl revenue. The revenue is composed principally ot taxation to the extent ot. £44,750,000, gross earnings of Government jaihvays and tramways amounting to about £27,500,000, and post, -ofliee revenue about £6,000,000. Expenditure includes nearly £29,750,000 for interest on public debts, of which a Utile over £15,000,000 represents interest on war debt; while other items of expenditure include over £21,000,000 for working ' expenses of Government railways and tramways, £3,000,000 for.the regular eosj of defence (apart from war expenditure), £4,750.000 lor war pensions, nearly £4,000,000 tor invalid old age pension-, about £5,250,000 for education. £5,500,000 for post office expenses, together with administrative expenditure of various descriptions, .the ,ie\enne and expenditure of tin 1 Commonwealth and the six Slates show in the aggregate a net, deficiency of £1,153,900 on the year. In additi-

on to expenditure charged against revenue, expenditure against loans has amounted to about £7(5,500,000, of which war purposes have absorbed £62,250,000 and public works over £14,250,000. ,The public debts of the Commonwealth and the States amounted to about £694,000,000, a total which has since been increased. While the growth of the debts since 1914 has been mainly due to the war, it is also to be noted that loan expenditure on railways and other public works during the five vears has amounted to .£,88,500,000.