FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1934. THE SAME AS BEFORE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 230, 28 September 1934, Page 6

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1934. THE SAME AS BEFORE.

On September 2S, as near as needs be to six months after the beginning of the financial year, the public is finally told what the rates of land and income tax are to be for this period. Anything more contrary to the ordinary practice of business it would be difficult to imagine. When is this country going to adopt the sensible, business-like practice of Britain and bring down its Budget and pass its taxation immediately after the end of the financial year? The rates themselves are disappointing, in that hopes of reduction in general taxation have been raised by the buoyancy in the revenue. Not only is the. Minister not giving relief in land and income tax rates, but he has budgeted for a large increase in taxation returns. His total yield from taxation in 1933-34 was £17,059,000; he estimates that the yield this year will be £19,305,000. Of this additional two and a quarter millions, it is estimated that Customs will yield more than a million, sales tax £300,000, and income tax nearly £700,000. Moreover, one of Mr. Coates' colleagues has said that the revenue estimates are conservative, and predicts that the year will end with a surplus of a million. It is true that the Government has made concessions that have to be set against these increases. The community benefits in reduced taxation for unemployment; something of what was taken from the Civil Service is being restored; and now the relief for old age pensioners previously announced is to be made retrospective. The Government's treatment of pensioners has been sharply criticised as niggardly, and the decision to make the restoration of 5 per cent apply to the past six months will be considered an act of justice. The fact remains, however, that in a period of recovery the payer of income tax receives no relief. The rates press heavily on individuals and companies. They curtail spending power and restrict industrial and commercial enterprise. The Minister must make up his mind to give relief to these classes at the first opportunity, and this should be seized not half-way through the next financial year, but at its very beginning.

POSTS AND, SALARIES. "They were all present, your Majesty; I counted them myself." To read the list of offices held by the Secretary to the Treasury is to recall "The Mikado." But Pooh-Bah, if we remember rightly, stopped a good deal short of twenty-two. Mr. Park's list suggests rather the titles held by Royalty. It should be explained, however, that nothing derogatory to Mr. Park is intended. Ho is the victim of circumstance. No doubt some of the twenty-two . offices are little more than nominal, but what remains is a great load for one man to carry. One must feel sorry for him, and the question arises whether such an arrangement is good either for the State or for the individual. It may happen that when a proposal is forwarded for the approval, of several authorities in Wellington, it really goes to one person, who possibly transfers the application solemnly from one pocket to the other. The Secretary to the Treasury is, unless one excepts the Public Service Commissioner, the most important member of the Civil Service. He is the right-hand man of the Minister of Finance. In these days of restriction and readjustment his work is particularly difficult and arduous. In these circumstances he should be weighted as little as possible with other tasks. Otherwise one may be tempted to apply to the chief adviser of the Government the remark of the Quaker to the ever-busy author: "And when do you think, Mr. Southey?" As to Mr. Park's salary of £1342, this is moderate when measured by his responsibilities. So, for that matter, is the £1103 paid to the Public Trustee. Unless we decide to adopt Mr. Shaw's proposal and pay everybody the same, no matter what his work is, there must be reasonable relationship between the position and, the salary. The £500 that Mr. Park receives as director of the Reserve Bank is part of ordinary expenses, and has nothing to do with his Civil Service salary. The question that should have agitated the House is not whether Mr. Park is over-paid, but whether he is over-worked.

THE TRAINING COLLEGES. The decision to re-open the teachers' training colleges at Auckland and Christchurch marks an ascent from a trough of depression such as the teaching profession had never previously experienced. What the curtailment of training meant may be judged from this fact, that whereas at the end of 1932 there were 1511 teachers in various stages, including probationary assistants, at the end of 1033 there were only 439. In 1933 only two colleges were open, and these" were closed this year. The total of teachers 'unemployed within the last year or so has risen to several hundreds, and the amount of hardship and disappointment caused can easily be imagined. In many a case real sacrifices were made to obtain special education, but when the education had been obtained there was no work. The lesson of these experiences should not be lost. Before restrictions were imposed, too many teachers were trained, and the conditions under which trainees were received were so favourable as to draw expressions of surprise from some of those who knew what obtained in other countries. Those were the days of "easy come easy go" in finance, but they have gone, perhaps for ever.