The Press. Wednesday, June 11, 1919. Taxation.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16546, 11 June 1919, Page 6

The Press. Wednesday, June 11, 1919. Taxation.

The .Acting-Minister of Finance has made a statement to tho effect that the whole question of the taxation assessment will be reviewed in the near future, and by way of contributing some facts for consideration, he quotes some very striking figures relative to tho great growth of direct taxation. In 1914 the yield from land tax was £767,451, or 12.97 per cont. of the total taxation; in 1919 it was £1,512,693, or 11.03 per cent. The income tax in 1914 yielded £554,271, or 9.37 per cent, of the total taxation; in 1919 tho yield was £6,219,335, or 45.36 per cent. By taking the customs and excise duties from the balance-sheet printed in tho "Gazotto" of May 15th last we aro enabled to exhibit the'movement of taxation in tubular form. First we shall show the actual receipts under the three heads: — Year Customs ended and Land Incomo ilatch Excise. Tax. Tax. Slat. £ £ £ 1009 .. 2,917,461 604,901 321,014 1910 ... 2,786,490 6-12,270 316,835 1911 .. 3,145,929 628,723 407,233 1012 .. 3,398,143 617,015 148,935 1913 - .. 3,531,761 728,638 462,994 Ifll ... 3,553,783 767,451' 554,271 1915 .. 8,234,943 799,641 540,318 ... 3,524,063 1.048.356 1,392,119 1917 •.. 4,037,628 713,118 4,262,126 1918 .. 3,601,383 1,385,708 5,619,561 1919 .. 4,101,015 1,512,693 6,219,335 We may also set out the percentages of the total taxation which are reprcsontod by theso figures:— Land and Year Incomo ended Customs. Tax March and Land. Income, com31st. Excise. Tax. Tax. bined. 1909 M 66.64 13.83 7.33 21.15 1910 „ 65.63 15.13 7.46 22.59 1911 65.03 13.00 8.42 21.42 1912 64.16 12.21 8.48 20.69 1913 *. 62.99 13.00 8.26 21.26 1914 60.05 12.97 9.37 22.34 1915 .. 56.03 13.60 9.19 22.79 1916 48.49 14.43 19.16 33.59 1917 33.27 6.76 40.40 47.16 1918 .. 29.18 ' 11.23 45.54 56.77 1919 .. 29.92 11.03 45.36 56.39 It will be Geen that while in 1914 the receipts from customs and excise duties were nearly three times as large as the receipts from land tax and income tax, in 1919 they were not greatly more than half as large. In 1919 a little over half a million more came in from customs and excise duties than came in in 1914; tho increase in the yearly receipts from land tax and income tax grew to nearly 6} millions sterling in the Bame time. The receipts from the indirect taxes increased in the five 7ears "by about 15 per cent.; the in-'

crease in the receipts from land tax and income tax was over -130 per cent. Agreement upon a just balance between direct and indirect taxation cannot bo looked for; indeed, we are doubtful whether by any process of reasoning it can bo shown that any particular ratio between them means that a sound fiscal policy is in operation. But it is evident, in view of the fact that the income tax does not affect incomes below £3C0 —or, in the case of taxpayers with children to maintain, incomes bolow £'320, £300, or even £100—that the burden of dircct taxation is much too high. In another statement Mr livers calls attention to the great growth in the public debt, involving an addition of about four millions sterling to the permanent expenditure. "We shall take another occasion to refer to his remarks upon this point, and his observations upon tho statistical evidence of the country's capacity to meet its increased liabilities. For tho moment, it is sufficient to say that these liabilities, while they make tho revenue problem one which must bo treated very seriously, cannot be regarded as any warrant for maintaining the present scale and incidence of taxation, dircct and indirect. Tho duty of the Govornment is in the main twofold: to reduce the burden of direct taxes and to broaden tho basis of taxation. This is far more important than experiments with "elastic" tariffs for other purposes than the strengthening of revenue, and we hope that when the revision of taxation is tauen up by the Government there will be members enough to insist upon this point.