THE WOOLSTON TANNERIES

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21258, 1 September 1934, Page 14

THE WOOLSTON TANNERIES

Company's War-Time Operations REFUND OF INCOME-TAX SOUGHT [From Our Parliamentary .Reporter.J WELLINGTON, August 31. A Government investigation into the war period operations of Woolston Tanneries Ltd., with a view to a refund of £25,000 said to have been overpaid in income tax has again been sought by C. C. M. Ollivicr, of Christchurch, in a petition to Parliament. This petition and the unfavourable recommendation of the Public Petitions M to X Committee, presented to the House: of Representatives this morning, formed the subject of a Jong discussion, in which members urged the Government to give the assistance asked for to the tanneries, which, it was said, .were working under very difficult conditions. The same committed reported favourably on the petition in 1923. The committee's report was as follows:—"The- committee, having teard exhaustive evidence from the petitioner and C. H. Taylor, Crown solicitor of the Crown Law Office, representing the Government departments concerned, and having ilso carefully considered and investigated the evidence before three ;elect committees of the House, a oint committee, and two Royal Commissions, after due deliberation las no recommendation to make." Disappointment Expressed

I Mrs E. R. McCombs (Lab.. Lyttol- | ton) expressed her keen disappointj ment with the finding of the enmj mittee. She said the sympathies of | members which were apparent during the war had disappeared, and because of this the promoters of the petition would suffer. During the war the WooJston Tanneries had been controlled by the Government, while the other 11 tanneries in New Zealand had not been subjected to any control. Whatever excuse was offered was that Woolston was responsible for half the total production of New Zealand and would influence the prices; but the other tanneries had fixed their own prices, thus (he Woolston Tanneries suffered through not being able to take part in the war of inflation, while | they also lost later through the j post-war deflation. During that period, added Mrs McCombs. 111 ■ tanneries also paid income lax on stock, and it could be shown that the stock did not realise the value placed on it. The result was that £25,000 was paid in income tax that was not justified. The Hon. A. D. McLeod (C, \Vairarapal: Do/ens of other firms and individuals have had the same experience. Mrs McCombs: I can think of no other firm in New Zealand which has received the treatment meted out to the Woolston Tanneries toward the end of the war. Lrnbargo on Skins Lifted She added that the tanneries had j decided not to continue owing to! increasing costs, and it was only at I the urgent request of the Govern- I ment that the works were kept in j operation. A little later the Go- j vernment released the embargo on j the import of skins, and Australian! skins were dumped into the Do-j minion. This meant further loss ! for the Woolston Tanneries—loss ! that had been estimated at between j U60,000 and £IOO,OOO. The company had decided to forgo all Hies ■! losses; but it did ask for a refund j of the income tax that had been j overpaid. ',

The claims of the company were supported by Mr D. G. Sullivan ; (Lab., Avon), Mr R. McKeen (Lab.. i Wellington South), Mr W. J. Poison ; (G, Stratford), Mr W. A. Veitch , (Ind., Wanganui), Mr F. Langstone (Lab., Wainiarino). Mr If. T. Arrn- ; strong; (Lab., Christenurch East), i Mr M. J. Savage (leader of the Op- } position), and Mr E. J. Howard | (Lab., Christen urch South). Mr J. | Linklater (C, Manawatu), Mr H. S. I S. Kyle (C, Riecarton), Mr R. W. Hawke (C. Kaiapoi). and Mr F. I Lye (C, Waikato), chairman of the committee, defended the committee, and declared that no other finding could have been brought in with the evidence available. Case for the Crown Mr Kyle said there was a good :' deal to be said for the Crown. Durj ing the war rumours had been given ! wide currency to the effect that the j Woolston Tanneries were linked up ! with a big American trust. ! Mrs McCombs: Was it disproved? I Mr Kyle: Yes. : Mrs McCombs: Absolutely. | Mr Kyle: But nevertheless rumours were going about, and must have done some harm. He added that the difficulties of the company had been investigated several times, on one occasion by three judges. They had reported that the company did not suffer sufficient injury or damage entitling it to compensation from the public fund. There was a danger now that the company would close down, and Mr Kyle suggested that the Unemployment Board, which had announced its intention of giving some assistance to secondary industries, might be able to help the Woolston Tanneries, which were the largest and most important in New Zealand. If the company had been treated unjustly in the past, here was an opportunity for redress. Inconsistency Alleged Mr Armstrong accused **Tr Kyle of inconsistency in defending the committee and in urging assistance for tire company. Lrery cornpary operating in New Zealand, he said, had been able to make all the profits it desired during the war period, with the exception of Woolston Tanneries. Ltd., which had been confined to a profit of 0 per cent. There was absolutely no truth in the rumour that the company was part of an American trust. Mi' Poison: Yet that statement was made V>y Government officers. Mr Armstrong: Yes. And restric-1