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Balance Sheet 1917–18

Volume 105: debated on Monday 22 April 1918

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In connection with last year's finance, there is only one other topic to which I should like to refer. My right hon. Friend, who preceded me as Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. McKenna), laid down the rule which ought to guide our financial arrangements, and which I adopted and tried to carry out last year. That rule, stated simply, was this, that in presenting every Budget the Chancellor of the Exchequer should aim to produce such a result that, on the assumption that the War came to an end at the close of the year for which the financial statement was made, there would be a sufficient revenue without new borrowing or new taxation to make sure that not only the expenditure left after the War, but the Debt charge could be met. My Budget last year was designed to obtain that result. During the year, as the House may remember, suggestions were made that, in view of the excess of expenditure over my Estimate, my object could not be realised. In October, after going thoroughly into the matter, and forming the best estimate I could as to what the revenue from taxation would be, I stated in the House I was satisfied that the Estimate made at the beginning of the year would be realised. I shall not now go into this subject, which is more important from the point of view of the financial statement for the current year, but I may state briefly to the Committee at once that the Estimate I gave in October has been realised. Owing to the increased expenditure our Debt charge has increased to the extent of £13,500,000. On the other hand, the excess of permanent revenue last year, as compared with the Estimate, was £20,500,000, so that on balance the position is better by £7,000,000 than I estimated at the beginning of the present year. The total balance sheet for last year is given in the Blue Paper. Perhaps I ought to state what the particulars are. The issues last year were £2,696,221,000; the Revenue, £707,235,000, leaving a balance to be borrowed of £1,988,986,000.