CUSTOMS REVENUE FALLS OFF STEADILY

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 320, 3 April 1928, Page 18

CUSTOMS REVENUE FALLS OFF STEADILY

PETROL TAX INCREASES PERIODICAL RETURNS A steady drop in the revenue derived from customs duties is shown by the returns for the first three months of 1928, which, when compared with corresponding: periods of last year and 1926, indicate a substantial shrinkage of imports. During March customs duty collected amounted to £179,782, while tyre-tax, which up to the end of 1927 was included in customs, yielded £5,051. making a grand total of £184,833, compared with £221,231 in the corresponding month of last year and £204,766 in March, 1926. Naturally the tax derived under the new legislation from imported motor spirits is rising steadily monthly, and during March this amounted to £28,453. For the three months this tax amounts to £50,000. Tyre tax increased heavily on March importations. CLustoms revenue for the year to date is £40,379 less than for the corresponding period of last year, and £7,3,574 below the return for the first three months of 1926. * Customs revenue and tyre tax figures for the first three months of 1925, c ompared with those for the correspondingmonths of 1927 and 1926,. are: — 1925. 1927. . 1926. January .. £172,148 £178,57*» £209,989 February . 204,962 202,518 220,762 March .. 154.533 221,231 204,766 £561,943 £602,322 £635,517 A separate return for the first three months of the current year, showing the increasing amounts collected by way of motor-spirit and tyre taxation, is as follows: Motor Spirit. Tyre Tax. January £11,900 £3,058 February 11,963 3,339 March 28,453 5,051 £52,316 £11,478