§ Turning now to the subject of revenue, on the existing basis of taxation I estimate the revenue at£956,600,000, of which£866,600,000 is Ordinary revenue and£90,000,000 Special revenue. These figures naturally exclude revenue attributable to the Irish Free State and revenue transferred to Northern Ireland. Taking now the items of revenue, the Customs and Excise Estimate is affected by the exclusion of Ireland to the extent of about£18,000,000, but apart from that I contemplate a fall in revenue. Nearly every item in Customs and Excise has fallen off in yield in the last three or four months. I would not dogmatise about the causes, but the opinion I have formed is that while consumption kept up in a remarkable degree during the course of the year 1921, the savings of the people gradually became exhausted, and the spending power is now curtailed. I believe that to be the cause of the falling revenue, and we cannot anticipate that until things have considerably changed for the better we shall have any increase under that particular head of revenue. In these circumstances, I am putting my total Estimate for Customs at£117,250,000, and for Excise at£160,750,000, making a total of£278,000,000 in all. This is a decrease of£46,343,000 as compared with the receipts of last year, about£18,000,000 of which, as I said before, is due to loss of revenue from Southern Ireland.
§ Turning to Inland Revenue, the Inland Revenue, again excluding Ireland other than Northern Ireland Reserved taxes, I estimate at a total of£481,000,000, as against an estimate last year (including Ireland) of£632,000,000 and a realised figure of£521,000,000. The details of these figures are as follow:
| £ | |
| Death Duties | 48,000,000 |
| Stamps | 18,250,000 |
| Land Tax, House Duty and Mineral Rights Duty | 3,000,000 |
| Income Tax and Super tax | 362,200,000 |
| Corporation Profits Tax | 19,750,000 |
| Excess Profits Duty | 29,800,000 |
§ The other Revenue items are as follow:
| £ | |
| Motor Vehicle Tax | 10,600,000 |
| Post Office | 60,275,000 |
| Crown Lands | 750,000 |
| Sundry Loans | 14,000,000 |
| Ordinary Miscellaneous Receipts | 22,000,000 |
| Special Receipts | 90,000,000 |
§ On the existing basis, therefore, and after allowing£25,000,000 for Supplementary Estimates, I am left with a Revenue of£956,600,000 and an expenditure of£910,000,000, giving us a surplus of£46,600,000, but this, as I have said, is without making any provision for the redemption of debt.
§ Lieut. - Commander KENWORTHYWhat are the special receipts?
§ Sir R. HORNEThey realised£170,000,000 this year, but I am putting them at£90,000,000 for next year.
§ Lieut. - Commander KENWORTHYAre German reparations included?
§ Sir R. HORNEGerman reparations were in the amount last year, but there is no amount estimated for German reparations in the present year. We have always treated the possibility of sums coming from Germany as windfalls. It is very much wiser.