Cars, Petrol, Tobacco Cheaper

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29263, 22 July 1960, Page 13

Cars, Petrol, Tobacco Cheaper

PENSIONS MEANS TEST REMOVED (From Our Parliamentary Reporter! WELLINGTON, July 21. Gars, petrol and cigarettes will be cheaper; but taxes on income will remain substantially the same as a result of the Budget presented to the House of Representatives this evening by the Minister of Finance (Mr Nordmeyer). Petrol will be 2d a gallon cheaper today. Cigarettes will probably . cheaper by Id for 20, but the price change and time of introduction will be decided by the Price Tribunal, along with a lower price for tobacco. Sales_tax on motor-vehicles drops from the 40 per cent, imposed in the 1958 Budget to 33 1-3 per cent. * Increased benefits are provided for Social Security beneficiaries and war pensioners. The capital disqualification for benefits is abolished. The allowable income for beneficiaries is raised to £3 a week.

, The rates of P.A.Y.E. taxation are unchanged, but the aggregation of incomes of married couples is abolished except where one derives income from assets owned by the other.

In his third Budget, Mr Nordmeyer offers inducements for saving, among them being an increase in the amount of interest allowed for tax deduction, provided the interest comes from Government sources or trustee savings banks, and an increase in the exemption for life insurance and •superannuation contributions.

Relaxations benefiting companies and shareholders are provided under the headings of capital issues control, excess profits retention tax and special depreciation.

Estate duty concessions include provision for prepayment.

Tighter control of deposits accepted by certain financial institutions will be introduced, but trading banks are permitted to engage in specified hirepurchase transactions.

The respective roles of Parliament, the Reserve Bank and the trading banks are to be defined by legislation.

The maximum interest on local body loans is reduced from 5 per cent, to 4 7-8 per eent.

Mr Nordmeyer expects to get £292 million from the taxpayers this year, compared With £279 million in 1959-60, Although he has lowered some rates of taxation, total tax receipts will be higher because of increased incomes. /

To reduce taxation rates any further at the present time “would be to endanger the stability which has now been reached both in our internal economy and in the state of our overseas reserves,” he told the House.