Last year I was confronted with Estimates for Central Fund and Supply Services totalling £77,329,000. Against this, receipts from tax and non-tax revenue were estimated to amount to £68,598,000, leaving an estimated deficit of £8,731,000. To avoid recourse to heavy additional taxation to meet this deficit and in accordance with the previously announced Government policy of ensuring retrenchment over as wide a field as possible, I adopted a number of measures with the details of which the House is already familiar. The Estimates of supply expenditure were reduced by £6,646,000 in respect of economies which were considered to be warranted and of adjustments in food subsidies. Allowing for a reduction of £800,000 representing the capital element of certain items charged to borrowing and for an addition of £600,000 for the improved social services, which I announced in the Budget, I was still left with an estimated deficit of £1,885,000.
The shortening of the period allowed for payment of beer duty, the expected revival of the wine trade consequent on the lifting of portion of the duty, and the raising of the duties on petrol and oil together with an appropriation from the Road Fund, were calculated to bring in an additional £1,910,000, producing a modest surplus of £25,000.
In the event the surplus realised on a comparable basis was £98,000. Central Fund and Supply Services cost £71,943,431 or £660,431 more than the revised Budget Estimate. A sum of £9,860,000 was paid out in flour subsidy as against the Budget provision of £7,134,000. The amount to be deducted for items charged to borrowing was considerably less than anticipated. These variations from the Budget Estimates of Expenditure were, however, more than offset by the fact that revenue payments proved to be higher than anticipated.
Tax revenue brought in a total of £62,403,000 which was £833,000 more than I budgeted for. On the customs side the Estimate was exceeded under a number of heads principally tobacco (£1,100,000) and motor cars, parts and accessories (£160,000). The Estimate figures were not, however, reached in some other groups, mainly wine, which was £330,000 less than expected. Excise duties, as a whole, showed a net improvement on the Estimate due largely to the buoyancy of the spirits and entertainments duties, the increases over the Estimates being in these two cases £430,000 and £115,000, respectively. On betting there was an increase of £80,000 over the Estimate and small increases occurred under a number of other heads. On the other hand beer duty was £400,000 below the Budget Estimate. Inland revenue maintained the upward trend noticeable in previous years, income-tax and surtax together being £1,551,000 over the Budget Estimate.