FINANCE —PUBLIC AND PRIVATE
NATIONAL ECONOMY AND FOREIGN • TRADE
BY ARTHUR W. KIDDY.
LARGELY by. reason of, the incidence of taxation, the National Accounts at the end of the 81st December usually show a very heavy Deficit. Too much, therefore, need not be made of the fact that on the 31st of last month there was an excess _ of Expenditure over Revenue .'of no . less than £123,877,762. A year previously the Accounts - had shown a Deficit of .189,000,000 and, in spite of that fact, the Government's fiscal year closed with a realized Surplus of £8,659,000. So much of the .Revenue comes in during, the last three months of the fiscal year—that is to say, the March quarter—that it is always difficult to tell 'Until the end of the_ year what may be the final results. On the other hand, so much of the Expenditure, including the two heavy half-yearly payments of about £50,000;000 on the 5 per cent. War Loan, has to be met _during the nine months ending the 31st December that, of necessity, there is a Deficit during that period which has to - be met temporarily by heavy borrowing on Ways and Means Advances.
Previous page
