TAXATION MAY YIELD AN EXTRA £14,000,000

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1031, 23 July 1930, Page 11

TAXATION MAY YIELD AN EXTRA £14,000,000

AUSTRALIA’S BURDEN POSTAL CHARGES RAISED United P.A.—By Telegraph—Copyright Reed. 10.5 a.m. SYDNEY, Today. Copies of the Federal estimates of receipts and expenditure for the financial year 1930-31 have been circulated in the House of Representatives. The revenue is estimated at £65,585,770, of which £14,000,000 is expected to be derived from new taxation. It is proposed to increase Government costs by £1,000,000. Overseas trips will cost £14,000, political expenses £77,000, the League of Nations £30,000, and iron and steel bounties £300,000. The principal feature of the Federal Budget debate was an address by the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. H. G. Latham. He gave details of his proposal to reduce the estimates by £4,000,000. His proposals included withdrawing the sum of £1,000,000 allocated for unemployment relief and limiting the maternity bonus to persons receiving not more than £6 a week. HEAVILY INCREASED SPENDING A message from Canberra says the House of Representatives passed a Bill to increase the letter postage rate from ljd to 2d, also to increase slightly the newspaper bulk postage rate. The Postal Department expects to gain from these sources and other adjustments of postal rates at least £1,000,000 of extra revenue. The Federal estimates of expenditure, which total £65,610,000, represent an increase of £1,094,000 over last year. They include £14,707,000 on business undertakings, namely, the railways and the Post Office, an increase of over £500,000. Of this expenditure £869,000 will be contributed from the general revenue. The Post Office revenue is expected to be £15,577,000, an increase of over £1,500,000. The sum of £312.000 will be voted to the Federal Capital Territory, from which the revenue is expected to reach £228,000. COMMONWEALTH LOAN Nearly £9,000,000 has already been subscribed to the Federal Government’s £10,000,000 loan. The issue has been open five weeks and the lists will be closed on Monday. BASIC WAGE FALLS Reed. 9.5 a.m. SYDNEY, Today. The Federal basic wage has been reduced in all States in sympathy with the drop in prices and in living costs. Queensland workers under the Federal awards lost 5s Cd, New South Wales Is, and other States from 6d to Is 6d a week.