TROTTING TAXATION.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 161, 10 July 1928, Page 9

TROTTING TAXATION.

BURDEN ON COUNTRY CLUBS.

PROMISE NOT FULFILLED.

(By Telegraph—Special to "Star.")

WELLINGTON, this day,

"The sport of trotting continues to carry a heavy burden of special taxation, largely imposed and accepted with the utmost goodwill, during the War period, as a temporary means of assisting the finances of the country during the critical periad," remarked Mr. H. F. Niccol at the opening of the Trotting Conference to-day. While the State revenue has been materially increased by these taxes, they have had the effect of seriously decreasing the revenue of clubs, and more especially of the country clubs, many of whom to-day are having a very hard fight to make both ends meet.

"It is an axiom that taxation should never be imposed so as to cripple the taxpayer, but that he should be enconraged and assisted to earn more in come so as to provide more revenue the State. Trotting Clubs, together with kindred sports, provide the easiest of all means of collectiny State revenue, but it is absolutely necessary for the Government to vive them some relief if they are to continue to lay the golden egg. During the past year an endeavour has been made to obtain from the Cabinet an increased refund to clubs of the totalisator tax, together with the removal of some of the restrictions of the expenditure of such refund. While this would not assist the large and more prosperous clubs to an appreciable extent, it would materially assist the smaller clubs who are struggling to carry on, and the suggested refund, from the Government point of view, would be insignificant, compared with the amount collected annually from racing and trotting. I confess to being disappointed that the Government have not recognised their obligation in this connection. The [Government of the day in 1921 undoubtedly made a promise of alleviation I within a definite time, and that promise I is still unfulfilled.

"The sport of trotting continues to suffer from anomalies which exist in the present law. Some of these are absurd, and some are harmful. The ban upon .he publication of dividends does rio* prevent people from obtaining this information. and, in many cases, the drawng power-of the news is used to foste .ilegal betting. Such measures, being both absurd and abortive, breed an antagonism to the law, arising from a sense of injustice, which is dangerous to the law-respecting spirit."