BUOYANT REVENUE.

Waikato Times, Volume 121, Issue 20263, 4 August 1937, Page 6

BUOYANT REVENUE.

It is probable that, when the next Budget is brought down, one-half of the current year will have passed, so that the Minister will have ample data on which to base his estimates for 1937-38. Last year Mr Nash said that Customs revenue was dependent on imports, and the ability of the Dominion to buy was governed by exports. He mentioned that for the production year that ended June 30, 1936 the value of the exports was £53,660,000 and held that there was thus scope for a considerable expansion of imports. As a result he estimated that an additional £939,000 would be obtained from this source. In the production year that ended on June 30 last the value of exports was £64,600,000 so that the Minister of Finance should be able to count on imports growing steadily, and thus providing still more revenue for the Treasury.

This should have a direct effect on the estimates. If the revenue from existing sources is so buoyant then, with careful control of expenditure—a thing that every Minister of Finance claims for his administration —there should be no occasion for any further increase in taxation. Indeed, the increased receipts may enable the Minister to lighten the burden to some extent. The unexpected increases made last year, despite the repeated assurances given during the election campaign that taxation had reached the limits —* and Mr Nash was one’who gave them —should be sufficient to enable the Government to balance the Budget for the current year. Imports have grown and the receipts from Customs duties have moved up accordingly. With another season just commencing exports should bo fully maintained so that imports will continue in good volume, to the benefit of the Treasury. Other items, such as sales tax, have established new records, and it would be interesting to have the views of the Manufacturers’ Association on these figures, for they are usually taken to afford a good guide to the activity of domestic trading. In view of the upward trend of receipts the authorities, if they do not actually reduce taxation, should at least be able to give an assurance that there will he no further additions.