SOCIAL SECURITY

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 59, Issue 15, 28 October 1938, Page 3

SOCIAL SECURITY

THE BURDEN OF TAXATION. EFFECT UPON INDUSTRY. (Ter Press Association.) WELLINGTON, October 27. A lengthy review of recent events in New Zealand and abroad, and an analysis of their effects on the economic life of the Dominion, was contained in lhe presidential address of Mr A. C. Mitchell, at the annual meeting of the New Zealand Employers’ Federation. “Individual control of one’s business, on which the prosperity of the Dominion has been built up during the past century, is making way for a system of bureaucratic, oppressive Government control not only of our business activities, but also of the entire social system,” said Mr Mitchell. “The overwhelming vote of confidence tendered to the Government at the recent election is the clearest possible evidence that there is a majority of electors prepared to adopt the popular, and perhaps, natural, course of endorsing a policy which appears to offer a maximum immediate reward for services rendered, rather than to take the long view, which involves calm consideration of the ultimate consequences to themselves of the policy being put into operation to-day.” Mr Mitchell said the Government’s Social Security legislation would impose further crushing taxation on industry. With every expansion of Government control of industry there must necessarily be a corresponding reduction of private ownership and control —on the profits of which the State had to rely for revenue through taxation to finance its own undertakings. This in turn involved an increased pro rata levy on those remaining in business. Any substantial fall of overseas prices must reduce the revenue received by the Government through ordinary taxation channels. The Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance had stated that they were relying upon the gradual progressive development and expansion of production and revenue from the sale of such increased production. The Insulation Scheme. “We have been assured that the Government has developed a scheme whereby the Dominion cau be effectively insulated against the possibility of another world depression,” said Mr Mitchell, “but experience has proved that in such circumstances only those countries, trading concerns or individuals, who have taken the precaution of building up reserves in prosperous times canlong survive economic disaster.”

Mr Mitchell declared that the overseas trading figures for the first seven months of this year disclosed the fallacy of the contention that revenue from the development and expansion of production would assist in providing funds to finance the Social Security scheme.

After reviewing the international situation, Mr Mitchell drew attention to the position that would arise should men be called on to leave positions in industry and fight. Ho foresaw New Zealand would have difficulty in meeting her obligations owing to the reduction of revenue from production. Mr Mitchell emphasised that the views he had expressed were not neeessalily the opinions held by the majority of the members of the Federation, which comprised men of all shades of political opinion, and for that reason tho Federation did not permit discussion on purely political questions. Neither were his remarks criticism of the Labour Government as such. It was his duty as the president to voice his personal criticism of any legislation affecting the welfare of the employers, and the industrial relationships of employers and workers as he saw it, and in doing so to assure the Government it might rely on the fullest co-op-eration of the Federation should such co-operation be called for in drafting legislation to avoid pitfalls prejudicial to the interests concerned, and in doing everything in the Federation’s power to ensure successful results from any legislation written into the Statutes of the country.