TAX ON MEAT IMPORTS

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21940, 14 November 1936, Page 16

TAX ON MEAT IMPORTS

BRITISH GOVERNMENT’S PROPOSALS EXPIRY OF AGREEMENT WITH ARGENTINA (FROM OCR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) LONDON, October 21. During the “Coronation Session” of the British Parliament, which begins on November 3, several measures will be brought forward involving both Houses in a vast amount of work. One question will be of fairly general interest to New Zealand. It will be raised by two bills sponsored by the Minister for Agriculture. These will deal with the livestock industry.

One will impose a tax on imports of foreign chilled and frozen beef and veal. It is proposed to set aside annually a sum of £5,000,000 for the benefit of the home industry, and if, as is generally expected, the Government fixes the tax oh foreign imports at id a pound, £3,000,000 will be available for the National Exchequer from this source. The second bill will give effect lo the permanent proposals for the future of the industry. It is more than likely that these bills will meet with strong opposition. The special objection to an import duty on meat is that the poorer classes of the community rely almost exclusively on imported meat for one of the principal items of their diet, while home-produced meat is reserved for those fairly well-to-do. Hence the general objection to taxation of primary foods —that it imposes a disproportionate burden on the poorer classes—is said to be specially strong in the case of meat.

The British agreement with the Argentine, made in 1933, ends in November. By that agreemeht it is impossible to impose a tariff or quantitative restriction on Argentine supplies without similar restriction on Dominion supplies. The agreement between Britain and the Dominions, made at Ottawa, was that there shall be no restriction of Dominion supplies before August, 1937. Broadly speaking, the British Government’s policy for domestic agriculture runs counter to the policy of Imperial co-operation, since Empire supplies of meat are enormous and the home producer cannot be fully protected unless some limit is put on Empire supplies.