THE MEAT TRADE.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 16043, 27 October 1917, Page 8

THE MEAT TRADE.

FURTHER. itf liffc

House,

(SffiCiAL tO "ffltS PftE^Si")

WELLINGTON, October 56. Mr Payne asked the Prlibe Minister ' itt tlio House Of to-diy whether it Was the intention of the Government to take legislative pdtffers

to deal Vvitli the meat export business on the lilies of the CdfiUnittee's report.

Mi' Massey Bitid that hd intcttd6d to bring the matter before Cabinet before Parliament was prorogued, But his opinion was that fof the tiiH6 bcittjg the Government hid all the powers »t needed.

Sir Joseph Ward said that duriiig tW debato on the Meat Trust report, it Was '*' stated by one iflotitbct- that fcfiftaUi meat companies trading in Now Zealand were not paying taxation proportionate to the capital invested. He had submitted the matter to tho Commissioner of Taxes, and he reported that sonic of these companies had boon - only recently, formed. It was premature to say that they wore not paying their prooer taxation. They were be- • int» taxed on the basis uniformly ap-. ' plied to all fetich companies; that wa*> oil tho income earned in. the Do* minion. The Question of the capital invested Or dividends earned did AOt" eolne into tho question at all., The only thing affected by the capital invested was tho liceiMc fee, and the Commissioner had ample power to do®' with any attempt on the part of companies to evade taxation.