AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20710, 22 November 1932, Page 9

AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

: —> — j | PAYMENT OF LIBEL | COMPENSATION. DEDUCTION FROM INCOME TAX. j _____ ] ! •I'K.TBD ft! ESS ASSOCUTIOX— Br BLECTJtiC ] rra-EGRApn—coryitiGUT.) j (Received November 21st, 10.35 p.m.) . SYDNEY, November 2.1. j The Commonwealth High Court de- j llverod an important decision to the j newspapers when it held that the "Mel ; bourne Herald and Weekly Times" was entitled to deduct from Federal income tax sums paid as compensation to persons claiming damages for libel, to- j getlicr with costs, which the Commissioner of Taxes had disallowed. The Court, held that the thing which produced assessable income was the thing which exposed the newspaper to the liability discharged by the expenditure. The Taxation Commissioner had maintained that the amount described as damages had not been exclusively expended in the production of assessable income. SYDNEY DELUGE, j SHOPS AND HOUSES | FLOODED. | RAIN AT RATE OF SIX INCHES j AN HOUR. U'XITKI) I'HKSS ASSOCIATION -EV ELECT JtlC ■nSLICGHAI'H—COPYRIGHT..I SYDNEY, Novcmbci 21. j The Slate .Meteorologist, Mr D. J.j .Mures, F I'.M.S., stated that at times j during a lorrtlie ,-,torm which struck Sjdney yesterday morning, vain fell at. an approximate rate of six inches an hour. In half an hour, from 7.20 a.m. to 7.ol) a.m., 210 points were registered, j Nothing in the records can equal this, j The storm-water channels were insur- ] heieui to cope with the deluge in seetions of the suburbs in Balmain, CatnI erdov. n. and Redfern, where shops and liou-ses were Hooded to a depth ot two feel, while in the city a wall of water burst through the windows of eight shops in George street. A train was struck by lightning at Mo.iinan. No passengers were aboard., and the cvew escaped. Fireballs were aibo reported from widespread points. In one ease a little girl bad just left Je r bedroom when a fireball crashed ihroogh the roof above her bed. with a shattering explosion. The low-lying areas in every suburb suffered, hundreds of backyards and homes being flooded. ; WHEAT CROPS DAMAGED. BRISBANE, November 21. ! Wheat crops oil the Darling Downs v.ere extensively damaged by torrential rain, three inches falling in Rockhampton m half-an-hour. flooding parts of the 'own. A dust-storm and gale unroofed buildings at Charters Towers, and damaged the fruit crops. CHAMPIONSHIP j , TENNIS. | COMBINED DOUBLES FINAL. (Received November 2Jsl, IO.L'O p.m.) SYDNEY, November 21. ■ The final of the mixed doubles championship of New South Wales, which was postponed from Saturday, resulted as follows: Keith GledUill (U.S.A.) and Miss N. Hall beat C. Donolioe and Miss U. Yalkenburg 6-3, 5-7, 0-4. TAX REDUCTIONS. ONE THIRD OFF LAND j BURDEN. ! DETAILS OF COMMONWEALTH CONCESSIONS. SYDNEY, November 11. li. eductions in taxation totalling £ 1,-100,000, to operate immediately, have been decided upon by the Federal Government. The decision, which has been made possible by the continued buoyancy of rovenue, was announced by the Prime Minister (Mr .1. A. I-yoiis) in the House of Representatives. The reductions include: Land Tax. —A reduction of onettDi'd in the existing rate. Xlie crnment will also introduce a Bill to extend the operation ot' section 60 of the Land Tax Assessment Act, so as to enable the Hardship Board to grant relief in cases where loss has been occasioned by- the fall in the price of primary products. lionet totals £"00,000. j Super Tax on Property.-Increase j in the exemption from this tax, providing relief to taxpayers to the extent of £500,000. Sales Tax.—Remissions totalling ab-mt £200.000 for the remainder of yea:-, and representing £330,000 for a full year. The Government proposed to ex- J empt the following articles from sales tax : Book*, magazines, and periodicals, j Fish, of Australian origin. Jams, fruit pulp, canned fruit, and | canned vegetables. j Pickles, sauces, and vinegar. ! Cakes. | Frimaoe Exemption from primage j of imported books, magazines,, and:, periodicals. 1 Surplus of £3,500,000. j Mr Lyons announced that, after 1 c refill reconsideration of the wholo 1 of the Budget in the light of the : improved position disclosed by the 4 figures tor the firsu foul months, t'ne Government now believed that there wuold be a surplus of £3,000,000 above its earlier anticipations. The tax reductions now granted would absorb £1,4-00,000 of this amount, and, in addition, eminent was granting for the assistance of the wheat industry, "Were it not for the difficulty arising out of the position of the wheattxrowers, tlie Government would havo heen able to grant much greater immediate relief to the general taxpayers." said Mr Lyons.