THE WHEEL TAX.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 183, 1 August 1908, Page 7

THE WHEEL TAX.

(To the Editor.}

Sir, —The opportunity taken by the X suburban road boards of raising aji in- j come by means of the wheel tax has af- j fected the carters of Auckland and sub- v urbs for some years past. Those road J boards that adopted it first have dono a so well thereby that all the others are- i using it for source of income, and con- J sqquently the Carriers' Association are r driven to appeal to the Government for t relief from these taxes, which have be- j come, owing to their duplication, so op- i pressive. ' Many of the carriers am paying £20 , o £30 per year for licenses on a single , r'av, some of which only occasionally go i upon these roads. In other instances, 1/ s per load is charged. In some cases this * is refused, and a license of £10 for a, narrow-tyred dray or £5 for 4in tyre in- i sisted upon. l As these taxes have to be charged to t the citizens, they will hardly approve that suburban districts should have the < power to tax to such an extent. For ex- j ■ample, for a load of scoria from Haslett's < pit, one of the largest pits in Auckland, < the tolls amount to 4/, made up as follows: About 200 yds of road in the lit. j Roskill district 1/, threequarters of a i mile of road through t-psom 1/, a mile and a-quarter of road through Mt. Eden another 1/, and delivered at Eden Terrace an additional 1/. Before these taxes were imposed the public had the benefit in price, and would do so again if they were removed. The carters do not object to paying a license for their vehicles, but the multiplicity of these charges is unfair and unreasonable, and it cannot be considered right that the rond boards should make considerable income by taxing others to the extent they are now doing. These taxes are a. serious matter for the citizens of Auckland, as the increased cost of the material for upkeep of city roads, as well as scoria, metal, and stone used in the erection of new buildings is all made under tribute to this illconsidered mode of taxation, and it is a matter that our City Council shonld, in the interest of the city ratepayers, do their utmost to have rectified. A great deal is made of the wear and tear carting scoria through the suburban roads. A load of scoria carted three miles, only weighing 30 cwt. without the cannot damage the road to the extent of 3/ or 4/. Engineering authorities estimate that the cost, per ton per" mile on a macadamised road is only 2d, but this taxation amounts to 1/. The example made of the load of scoria applies equally with regard to building material, as only one or two boards exempt materials for their residents. All the carriers cannot take out licenses for carting through these different! districts, and. apart from the expensive monopoly it may be to those who havo the license, it is unjust and arbitrary that, should a carter take an odd load through any of these districts, he should be pounced upon for a breach of law. and required to pay the tax of £5 or £10 or be prosecuted. We trust our City Council will take the same view of this matter that Christchurch or Dunedin are doing, and endeavour to hnve a license fee made embracing the city and suburbs. The carriers do not desire exemption from taxes, but that they should "be reasonable. —I ami, etc., CHAS. GROSVENOR, Secretary Auckland Master Carriers* Association. Auckland, August 1, 1903.