DUTY ON CHOCOLATES.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 75, 28 March 1924, Page 8

DUTY ON CHOCOLATES.

(To the Kditor.l ! Sir, —The opinion expressed by the' wholesale confectionery importer in; the "Star." in reference to choco- ! lates is misleading. Like a lot of i half-truths, one cannot call it a false ■ statement, because there is a certain amount of truth in it. The fact is, in plain language, that about nine months ago the Government took off threepence per lb. dutj- on chocolates, and hy the term chocolates, I mean those packet! in about Clh. boxes, or larger—not the large fanry boxes, containing about lib. of chocolates, and sellinp; for anything up to 21/ per box. I take it that this is the item on which the extra 21 per cent, is charged, and that is where the' •semblance of truth is.' The threepence. remission of duty is just enough to allow the big outside makers to flood the local market, as it is mainly bulkj chocolates that are used, and that ia

where the reduction of duty is doing the harm. The 24 per cent, duty on fancy boxes hardly matters, as they are mainly for presentation purposes, and would sell as freely if the duty was 50 per cent. Before the duty was taken off, it was as much as the smaller ■ manufacturers could do to make both ; ends meet; ana unless they are protected las before, there will shortly be a lot of ! small factories to let, and quite a numI ber of girls out of work.—l am. etc., i J.O.L.