Fiji Budget

A Record

Fiji’s Budget for 1964 is a record £12,634,696, an increase of £718,666 on the amount approved for 1963.

The spending for next year is made up of £9,413,938 in the recurrent budget and £3,220,758 in the capital budget.

ONCE again education is at the head of the list with £1,403,195 for next year, followed by annually recurrent works at £1,363,995, “mis cellaneous”, £1,162,090 and medical, £1,040,643.

The record spending does not in volve any increase in taxation. The Acting Financial Secretary, Mr. R.

M. Major, expects a surplus of £386,052 in the recurrent budget and a balanced capital budget.

The budget, although “stayput” in many ways, provides for the start of a five-year (1964-68) development plan, involving expenditure of up to £15,000,000 (see this page).

As usual the main revenue will come from Customs and excise duty.

Mr. Major estimated that this will yield £4,435,000 (£4,245,000 in 1963). Income tax is expected to re turn £2,350,000 (£1,980,000 in 1962) and death and gift duties £220,000 (£85,000 last year). Mr. Major de scribed the revenue expected from death duties this year as a windfall, not likely to recur.

Mr. Major painted a fairly bright picture for 1964, but at the same time he urged the need for restraint.

He rightly pointed out that Fiji was enjoying a boom because of an ex cellent sugar crop.