SALES TAX ON BUSES

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27426, 12 August 1954, Page 12

SALES TAX ON BUSES

MINISTER REPLIES TO QUESTION “VERY SMALL FRACTION” OF OPERATING COSTS (New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, August 11. "The Government is fully aware of the importance of the public transport system, and is aware that it is losing substantially perhaps £500,000 a year,** said the Minister of Customs (Mr C. M. Bowden) in the House of Representatives today. He was elaborating his vritten reply to a question asked pre ’sly by Mrs E. E. McMillan (Oso'sition, North Dunedin), who sought the removal of sales tax on all motor and trolley-buses to assist local authorities to meet their losses. Mr Bowden said the amount of sales tax on such vehicles written off over a period of 10 years—the effective life of a public transport vehicle—represented a very small fraction of the expenses of operating that transport. It might amount te id a vehicle mile, be said. Sporting cycles came into a different tariff item from those classes of sporting goods recently exempted from sales tax. said Mr Bowden in a reply to a question asked by Mr W. W. Freer (Opposition, Mount Albert). Mr Bowden, elaborating his reply after Mr H. Dudfield (Government, Gisborne) had said that although cricket gear was now exempt, cricket bags and bags for bowls were still subject to the tax, said that cricket bags and similar articles were part of another tariff item, which included suiteases, portmanteaux, and other similar classes, which it was not at present thought possible to exempt from the tax. To Mr P. G. Connolly (Opposition, Dunedin Central), Mr Bowden said that it was not intended to amend the Sales Tax Act to provide for the refunding of sales tax paid on goods subsequently exempted. No such provisions could be justified at this stage. Mr Bowden told Miss M. B. Howard

(Opposition, Sydenham) that many retailers had already reduced the prices of goods recently exempted from sales tax. In some cases there might be a delay in reducing prices until retailers disposed of stocks on which sales tax had already been paid and which the retailer was naturally entitled to recover in his prices. There was no check on tax-paid goods in stock, nor was any such check practicable, but the Price Control Division was keeping a general watch, and any cases of apparent overcharging would be investigated.