CUSTOMS REVENUE.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 March 1922, Page 4

CUSTOMS REVENUE.

THE DECLINE CONTINUES. BETURNS FOR THE YEAR 1»21. Customs and excise statictics issued last week complete the returns for the year 1921. The total amount of Customs revenue collected during 1921 was £5/371,715, as against £7,953,477 in 1920, a decrease of £2,281,762. The excise duty for 1921 amounted to £451,197, as against £443,462 in 1920. The increase of £7735 is due to the swelling of the receipts at the end of the year by the increase of the beer duties and the tobacco receipts. The Customs duties collected at the chief ports during 1921 were as follow, the amounts collected in 1920 being given in parentheses:—Auckland, £d,757,131 ( £2^23,469); Wellington, £1,689,888 (£2.588.474); Lyttelton, £866,415 (£1,269,057); Dunedin, £640,055 (£993,642); Napier, £149,870 (£194,580); Wanganui, £112,921 ( £125,699); Gisborne, £70,531 ( £95,710); New Plymouth, £73,347 (£lll,440); Nelson, £36,564 ( £42,746); Timaru, £66,082 (£75,518); Invercargill, £ll7/341 (£144,432). It is significant that the decline in the Customs revenue was most marked in the last quarter of the year, although the increased rates of Customs duty under the new tariff operated during a part of the quarter. The total amount of Customs duty collected in the last quarter of 1921 was £1,104,480, as against .£2,192,938 in corresponding quarter of 1920. Tha beer duty for the last quarter of 1921 amounted to £137,662, as against £94,121 in the corresponding quarter of 1920. The duty was increased on November 4 from 5Jd-6d per gallon to a minimum of 11 Vid per gallon, rising with a specific gravity.