EDUCATIONAL GIFTS

Press, Volume C, Issue 29434, 9 February 1961, Page 12

EDUCATIONAL GIFTS

Tax Exemption Opposed

The Canterbury School Committees’ Association was asked by Mr W. Rosenberg last evening to express its opposition to any proposals leading to exemption of gifts for educational and charitable purposes from income tax.

Because the matter had not been before sufficient individual school committees, voting was delayed until the next meeting on March 8. Mr Rosenberg said that if State aid was to be extended to religious and charitable institutions, direct aid was preferable to the proposed indirect procedure. Mr Rosenberg said that the Cashmere School Committee wished to bring the matter to the attention of the Federation of School Committees for discussion at its conference. The Cashmere motion read: "Both political parties in their recent election programmes undertook to grant exemption from income tax for gifts for charitable and educational purposes. Such a measure would be contrary to the declared policy of the federation, which opposes State aid to private schools.

“Moreover, exemption from income tax is a particularly poor form of State aid, in that it is not the State which decides on general principles where its aid should go, but it is the loyalty which an organisation can command from its followers which will determine the amount of taxation which the taxpayer will contribute to various causes.”