CUSTOMS REVENUE

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 207, 2 August 1937, Page 4

CUSTOMS REVENUE

BUOYANCY AT WELLINGTON. FIGURES FOR JULY. WELLINGTON, Aug. 1. The remarkable buoyancy of the Oustoms revenue collected at A\ ellington was once more demonstrated on Saturday when the July figures wcie announced by the Customs Department. Net Customs revenue for the month totalled £345,179, which is easily a record figure for eclipsing the previous record of £338,390, in November, 1936, by £6789. Prior To last November the record was in September, 1929. Sales tax, the best index to business activity, continues at a very high level, last month s total being £110,215. Collections from all sources last month amounted to £503,414, compared with £418,243 in July, 1936, an increase of £85,171. The net Customs revenue collected at Wellington last month totalled £345,179, compared with £289,466 in July, 1936, an increase of £55,713. For the seven months of the current year the revenue totals £2,065,574, compared with £1,827,481 for the corresponding period of 1936, an increase of £238,093. Comparing this year’s figures with the first seven months of 1933, the worst of the depression years so far as Customs revenue is concerned, there is ail increase of £987,305, the 1933 total being £1,078,269, or little more than half that of the current year.

The duty collected on motor spirit last month totalled £41,772 at 6d a gallon, and £27,855 at 4d a gallon, a total of £69,627 compared with £36,877 at 6d a gallon and £23,920 al 4d a gallon, a total of £59,797 for July, 1936, an increase of £9830. For the seven months tile totals are £483.784 and £485,264 respectively, a decrease of £I4BO. This decrease is due to the abnormal total of £119,736 in March, 1936, caused by an adjustment of duty suspense accounts, and is not an indication that petrol consumption has decreased this year. Collections of tyre tax last month totalled £1678, compared with £2190 in July, 1936, a decrease of £512. For the seven months there is an increase of £l9l, the figures being £13,097 and £12,906 respectively. Sales tax collections continue very buoyant, last month’s total of £110,215 being £23,575 in excess of the £86,640 collected in July, 1936. The total for the seven months, £745,051, shows an increase of £156,412 over last year’s total of £588,639. This tax came into force on February 10, 1933, . and the total so far collected at Wellington is £3 741,183. Beer excise collections for July totalled £4570, comparod with £4070 in July, 1936, an increase of £SOO. For the seven months the figures are £40,498 and £33,777 respectively, an increase of £6721.

AUCKLAND FIGURES. a geneualT INCREASE. Per Press Association. AUCKLAND, Aug. 1. A general increase in the Customs and excise revenue and in the sales tax collections is shown by the returns of the Customs Department in Auckland for July, as compared with the same month last year. Falls were recorded in both excise duty and sales tax payments compared with the figures for June, but the gain in the Customs revenue more than compensated for this decline. Collections of Customs duty last

month amounted to £272.366, as against £260,431 for July of last year and £260,419 for June. The tola collection of Customs motor spirit and tvre duty for July was £335,961, as compareef with £318,705 for June The excise on beer amounted to £12,/10. compared with £l2 365 and 4.17,417 respectively, and the sales tax yield was £81,956 compared with £69,41 1 and £84,570. . , . For the first seven months of this vear the Customs revenue alone came t 0 £1 913,930, the total for the corresponding period of last year being £1.765.580. With the motor spirit tax of 6d a gallon and the tyre duty added the respective figures were £2,379.192 and £2 221.108- The excise on ' beer , during the January-Jnly period of this year amounted to £104.378, against £90,939 last year, and from the sales tdx £5 1 4.346 was collected compared with £464,022 last year.