TAXATION IN NEW ZEALAND

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21938, 12 November 1936, Page 9

TAXATION IN NEW ZEALAND

yjfe uc. imroi of tbx press liltt* few months ago you printed aWEui* from “Industrial Britain” ■sETwith the income and taxation 'gjSgjSt Britain. This article was fully ESSFhy 3YA in its news sessions the Srawening. In that article it was jßSpgjat for the year 1935 in Great aSR.' the proportion of taxation SaSiunent and local) to national in--25 per cent., and that this Sewed very favourably with 30, par Saakr Government, state and local in the United States, and 40 JHBSi for Government and local in lOge latest Chamber of Commerce JgaSi an endeavour is made to New Zealand is the heavigrapgd country in the world by comSSrthe percentage of taxation to SJnpicn for 1934-35 in New Zealand gjgwith figures taken in the years Sg||gis, which then showed Great •SiPtO'be the heaviest taxed coun.jjfflh' a proportion of 18.3 per cent. BAwdly seems a reasonable thing to the conclusion that New ZeaSfrTfe the heaviest taxed country in ftTiiflrld on figures 10 years apart, as later figures are on reand the only' conclusion which 2* & drawn is that the Chamber of jwAterce neither reads “The Press” lT|Sens to Mr Currie reading the Sfl£jjj!Ssion from 3YA. one reads the article quoted in Press” it is evident that in other ■pantries there is not so much harping npe® taxation being a burden; rather kit treated as a means of redistribute the national income. For years jar Chamber of Commerce has been jmpfjig about the burden of wages, tfie burden of salaries, the burden of rat,, the burden of interest, the burgo irf taxation. In the article above ftfcrred to the national income is malysed into wages, salaries, interest, rats, and taxation. Apparently other gentries are adopting a broader outlook, and it is time that the Chamber if Commerce became more up-to-date wi trained its mind to function on non than a narrow track. With the exception of interest paid overseas the whole of the taxation gQepted goes back in some form or (Aer OS somebody ’s income. The people who receive it are performing useful Jgriees for their remuneration, but jiyijpng from public complaint about provision by the Government for education, hospitals, libraries, jaueums, and defence, it is quite evident our State services are not fully organised. An instance in point is the Apartment of External Affairs, the of which a leading article in “Ihe Press” yesterday described as fcing hopelessly inadequate. The cost jf this department per caput per Oman works out at Is 8d a head; This dpnot by any means be considered a tarden. Neither can any of the folhwiag:—Department of Justice 3s 2d, Nice Department 5s 2d, Defence 6s HI, Naval Defence 5s 9d, Industries. Commerce, Tourist, Publicity 2s, Agriculture 7s sd, Health 10s. Education £1 15$, Pensions £2 76. Tfcere was a picture exhibited at the Rmerfin exhibition entitled, I think, “The Unskilled Labourer.” I understand this was secured for the Dunedin Art Gallery. If the Chamber of Comtjac* considers the per caput cost of IS&sfams too high, it should take a this picture and then for ever tier hold its peace. Ihe largest per caput expenditure is J®,interest and exchange £6 15s per iamim. The position here is very investing because those who clamour Ladesl for a reduction of. Government ,rending are the first to get up in tans when a reduction of interest rates B-suggested. it may be mentioned iteMhe cost of subscription to one paper and oa6' radio license* ■rants to £3 4s per annum. No one Wilders this a burden, yet it is higher met the cost of any national service Herat interest, A modest investment anus amount per annum would keep Chamber of Commerce in touch *itli what is going on.—Yours, etc., KIWI. November 11, 1936.