GERMAN REVENUE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 23, 23 December 1932, Page 8

GERMAN REVENUE.

RETURNS FAR SHORT OF ESTIMATES. The half-yearly revenue returns of Germany show that taxes and customs duties yielded, between April 1 and September JO, 3,352,000,000 marks, which was 494,300,000 marks less than last year, and 348,000,000 marks less than half of the estimated total for I the year (7,400,000 marks). Failing a marked improvement, for which neither the home nor the foreign situation seem very propitious, a short"’ fall of something "like 700,000,000 marks seems likely, haif of which under the sharing system falls on the States and municipalities. Other Budget revenues also threaten to belie the estimates, while on the expenditure side, which has not yet been submitted to public or Parliamentary scrutiny, additional expenditure of some 250,000,000 marks to 350,000,000 marks has been approved. A fairly heavy deficit, therefore, hangs over future Budgets, and, as those for 1934-38 are already debited on tlie revenue side with 400,000,000 marks annually of negotiable taxation credit certificates, now being distributed in tlie hopes of stimulating trade, the burden accumulating for these years is increasing and the necessity for the return of prosperity, on which these schemes were built, is becoming more imperative. Incidentally, parts of the great economic revival scheme seem to have broken down. Local strikes apparently prevented any general use by employers of tlie right to reduce tariff wages in proportion to the increase of staff. As to the taxation credit certificates, taxpayers are presumably drawing their 1,500,000,000 marks worth, although they have not appeared on the security markets yet, hut employers seem to be making little use of the <00,000,000 marks worth available in premiums at 400 marks a head for new hands taken on. Tho Borsen Courier stated on October 28' that the Government proposed to issue some 250,000,000 marks of them to municipalities in the hope of finding work for 500,000 unemployed now municipally supported. This scheme is estimated to cost 1000 marks a head annually in wages and 500 marks a head for materials —in all 750,000.000 marks for 500,000 unemployed. This would he financed by the 250,000,000 marks of certificates; by 250,000,000 marks saved in relief by the municipalities; and by 250.000,000 marks to be conjured up from some other quarter. But the hopes that unemployment would lie quickly reduced bv one or two millions already seem visionary. The level of securities lias lately lost much of the improvement reported when the scheme was first announced, and the most earnest seeker for signs of improvement can find little more than local improvements in the labour market.