The Press WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 1938. The Petrol Tax

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22358, 23 March 1938, Page 10

The Press WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 1938. The Petrol Tax

A remit asking for a reduction of 4d a gallon in petrol taxation aroused little interest or enthusiasm when it came before the meeting of the South Island Motor Union on Monday. Apparently motorists are beginning to feel that the struggle for a reasonable tax on petrol is a hopeless one, particularly at the present time. To judge by the discussion on Monday, it is now felt that a. more profitable line of agitation is to seek assurances that the money raised by the petrol tax and other forms of road taxation will be used to pay for road construction and maintenance. But an agitation on these lines can bring no real benefits to motorists as a class. Although road funds, in New Zealand as in other countries, are used as an- excuse for high road taxation, they are invariably raided as soon as there is a financial stringency. In any case, the assumption that roads are of benefit mainly to those who own motor-cars is becoming increasingly unsound. Roads benefit the community as a whole, nonmotorists no less than motorists, and should be financed out of general taxation. The tax on petrol should be regarded as a contribution to general revenue, in the same category as the taxes on tea and tobacco. Nor should the agitation for its reduction be abandoned or modified merely because the present' Government is unsympathetic towards all appeals for reduced taxation. In relation to other necessary commodities, petrol is heavily over-taxed; and motorist: should cling to their case for better treatment until it receives more favourable consideration. They are entitled, moreover, to the support of farmers, industrialists, and merchants, since for all these sections of the community the petrol tax is a direct addition to overhead costs.