WAR FINANCE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 200, 23 August 1940, Page 3

WAR FINANCE.

EMERGENCY TAX. NO DOUBLE CONTRIBUTION. WELLINGTON, this day. In an urgent question to the Minister of Finance, Mr. Boswell (Government, Bay of Islands) asked whether the Minister had seen articles in the Press regarding the payment of the national ! curity tax, -tfhieh created the impression that taxpayers other than wage earners were required to pay double tax for the current year. Would the Minister make the position clear t Replying, Mr. Nash said there had been a certain amount of misunderstanding as to the extent of the liability in cases of the nature mentioned by Mr. Boswell, but the position was now fairly' well understood. The national security tax was a special emergency tax payable for war purposes by all persons in receipt of income. The contribution, in accordance' with the annual income received, was required from all this year. In the case of wage .earners tl : payment was made by deduction at the time of the receipt of wages. In the case of persons with income other than wages, liability to contribute this year was measured by the amount of last year's income. This must necessarily be so because, in such cases, the amount of the current year's income was not yet known. There was no question of a double contribution by persons other than wage earners, because only one year's tax was payable each year. When the tax was ultimately removed it would be removed from each class of taxpayer at the same time, with the result that all taxpayers would have paid in respect of income for exactly the same number of years.— (Press Assn.)