NO NEW TAXATION

Wairarapa Times-Age, 4 June 1943, Page 2

NO NEW TAXATION

PROPOSED IN BUDGET ENORMOUS AND MOUNTING EXPENDITURE. WAR AND OTHER PENSIONS INCREASED. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. No taxation increases during the current financial year are proposed in the presented in the House of I Representatives last night by the Minister of Finance (Mr Nash). Increases are to be made in war pensions, economic pensions, family and age benefits, and in the benefits lo invalids, miners, Maori War beneficiaries and war veterans. The increased rates will operate from July 1.

The war expenditure of the Dominion for 1943-44 is estimated at £148,000,000, as compared with £144,000,000 last year. Revenue of the War Expenses Account is estimated at £98,000,000, leaving a deficit of £50,000,000. This is to be financed by the war loan of £35,000,000 which opens for subscription * next Tuesday, and the balance from departmental funds available for investment, national savings, and overcounter sales of stock.

Expenditure from the Consolidated Fund during the current financial year is estimated at £41,000,000. Taxation receipts for other than war purposes are estimated at £35,500,000.

Expenditure from the Social Security Fund is estimated at £17,403,080 and the revenue of the fund at £l6„275,000. The hospital benefit of 6s a day per occupied bed is to be increased to 9s a day. Public debt operations last year resulted in a gross increase in the debt of £86,465,000. Repayments during the year brought this down to a net increase of £78,427,000, of which £73,908,000 took place in the Dominion and the balance of £4,519,000 in the United Kingdom. A housing programme costing about £4,000,000 and further hydro-electric development are contemplated for the current year, the total amount of new authorisations for national development works being £6,500,000. Taxation receipts for 1942-43 totalled £86,300,000. Of the total £59,100,000, or 68 per cent, was found by way of direct taxes.