THE LUXURY OF MOTORING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 243, 15 October 1931, Page 6

THE LUXURY OF MOTORING.

PETROL TAX INADEQUATE. ■ • ' (To the ' The extra twopenny tax on petrol will ad doubt, cause some heartburning amonjr 'thi motorists, but to the general public the twopence will seem Inadequate enough in 'view of: the enormous amount of money spent on tM making and upkeep of roads, mainlv for the pleasure of the motorist. From an" econoinie' point of view no tax imposed upon the person who only drives for pleasure should fa regarded as excessive in hard times, because he is indulging in a luxury which he could'verr well do without and which is makin" hia country poorer >by the amount of money he spends outside it in the purchase of foreign cars and motor spirit. In the case of motor vehicles which run for commercial purposes a rebate could be arranged. Our purchase of cars and petrol in outside countries, pri nc £J pally in the U.S.A., has for years' been ar steady drain upon the finances of New Zealand and now When hard times are here thousands of wage-earners find themselves without reserves in consequence, and what affects the individual purse must react in the Ion" ruii on the public purse, for individual thrift means' national wealth. The drastic remedy for this is, for a period at least, to impose such a hi tariff on petrol as to make it practically prohibitive for any person not financially wellfound to purchase or run a motor vehicle for" pleasure. In other words, let those who can afford the luxury pay for it, hut for their/ own good and their country's credit restrain those who maintain their cars at the expense of their tradesmen or their family's welfare*and so increase their purchasing power in theirown community. The immediate result, no doubt, would be to drive a large number of cars off the roads, but this would be the greatest benefit in many ways, addin"- to the life of the roads and the peace of pedestrians,' and reducing the number of road accidents,.' with their attendant hospital and. insurance expenses, to a minimum.

ISABEL M. CLUETT.