Government Revenues in Palestine. British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Volume I - Page 124. Chapter IV: The Central Government and Its Finances:

CHAPTER IV.

particular purposes. The annual budget is prepared by the Palestine Government and is then forwarded to London for the approval of the Secretary of State and the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury. When approved, the expenditure estimates form the basis of the annual Appropriation Ordinance which provides legislative authority for that expenditure. Expenditure additional to that itemized in the expenditure estimates requires the approval of the High Commissioner or Secretary of State, according to amount and nature; such expenditure is given legal sanction by a Supplementary Appropriation Ordinance. The financial year begins on the lat April in each year.

Revenue.

53. The following comparative table shows the development of the revenues over the past twenty years. Five year intervals are adopted, except that the year 1938/39 is included as being the last pre-war year and the year 1943/44 is included for comparative purposes.

------ ----- -
Head 1924/25 1929/30 1934/35 1938/39 1939/40 1943/44 1944/45
-----~-
1. Customs 642,068 901,753 2,600,370 1,854,602 2,019,366 2,557,948 3,576,223
2. Licences
& Taxes 627,248 790,870 1,075,295 796,435 975,870 4,934,582 6,450,778
3. Fees of
Govt. etc. 187,024 239,777 845,923 639,856 633,108 1,553,930 2,134,725
4. Posts &
Telegraphs 127,784 211,732 355,817 556,959 616,992 1,083,445 1,330,571
5. Other 375,696 152,986 418,947 387,286 389,624 999,006 1,584,161 Total ordinary

revenue 1,959,820 2,297 ,118 5,296,352 4,235,138 4,634,960 11,128,911 15,076,458

---- -

Other receipts 195,126 58,505 156,281 1,702,142 2,133,392 384,837 2,420,224

Total revenue 2,154,946 2,355,623 5,452,633 5,937 .280 6, 768,352 11,513, 748 17 ,496,682

The "other receipts" include grants-in-aid from His Majesty's Government and grants from Colonial Development funds (see below).

The major change in the fiscal system reflected in these figures was the introduction of an income tax in 1940. It yielded

£P.2,534,181 in 1944/45.

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