DEATH DUTIES

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26266, 10 November 1950, Page 8

DEATH DUTIES

AMENDING BILL COMES BEFORE HOUSE

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, November 9. Designed to remove anomalies and to avoid a possibility • of imposing double taxation, the Death .Duties Amendment Bill was introducea in the House of Representatives to-day. One of its purposes is to exempt from death duty tne value of any pension payable from an approved private superannuation fund to the widow of a contributor. This provision already applies to the Government Superannuation Fund, and is to be similarly extended to the National Provident Fund A clause in the bill also provides that when an instrument creating a gift has been presented for stamping, the Commissioner of Stamp Duties may on application within six months permit the parties tn withdraw the instrument for cancellation or alteration. The assessment of gift duty will be cancelled or amended accordingly. Where any gift duty has been injoosed on a reservation or benefit to the donor, any subsequent gift out of that reservation is to be relieved from duty to the extent that it has already been taxed. This provision is intended to avoid the payment of double duty. The Minister of Stamp Duties (Mr C: M. Bowden) said that the proposed changes were not likely to have any great effect on revenue, tlowever, thev removed anomalies and would be welcomed by the Law Society. The bill was referred to the Statutes Revision Committee.