nt Borrowing--Its Injustice to the Fighting
Men.

At first sight the figures of revenue and expenditure for the year
ending March 31st are extremely satisfactory, at any rate on the
revenue side. The Chancellor anticipated a year ago a revenue from
taxation and State services of L638 millions, and the receipts into
the Exchequer on these accounts actually amount to L707 millions. On
the expenditure side, however, the increase over the Budget estimate
was very much greater. The estimate was L2290 millions, and the actual
amount expended was L2696 millions. Instead, therefore, of a deficit
of L1652 millions having to be met by borrowing, there was an actual
gap, to be filled by this method, of, roughly, L1990 millions.

To take the revenue side of the matter first, this being by far the
most cheering and satisfactory, we find that the details of the
revenue, as compared with last year's, were as follows:--

Year ending Year ending
Mar. 31, 1918. Mar. 31, 1917. Increase. Decrease.
L L L L
Customs 71,261,000 70,561,000 700,000 ---
Excise 38,772,000 56,380,000 --- 17,608,000
Estate, etc.,
Duties 31,674,000 31,232,000 442,000 ---
Stamps 8,300,000 7,878,000 422,000 ---
Land Tax 665,000 640,000 25,000 ---
House Duty 1,960,000 1,940,000 20,000 ---
Income Tax and
Super Tax 239,509,000 205,033,000 34,476,000 ---
Excess Profits
Duties, etc. 220,214,000 139,920,000 80,294,000 ---
Land Value
Duties 685,000 521,000 164,000 ---
Postal Service 35,300,000 34,100,000 1,200,000 ---
Crown Lands 690,000 650,000 40,000 ---
Sundry Loans, etc. 6,056,250 8,055,817 --- 1,999,567
Miscellaneous 52,148,315 16,516,765 35,631,550 ---
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
707,234,565 573,427,582 153,414,550 19,607,567
| |
+-----------+----------+
L133,806,983