Rapid Development Of N.Z. Printing Industry

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29782, 27 March 1962, Page 10

Rapid Development Of N.Z. Printing Industry

Second to the pulp and paper industry, the printing industry had shown the greatest rate of growth of any New Zealand industry last year, said Mr R. E. Worts, president of the New Zealand Master Printers’ Federation, in his address to the federation’s annual conference in Hamilton at the week-end. “We are now the fifth largest manufacturing industry in the country,” said Mr Worts. “If we are taken in conjunction with the manufacturing of pulp and paper, the customary practice in international statistics, the combined industry is the third largest in New Zealand.” For the last complete period for which statistics were available, there were 422 establishments in the combined newspaper and commercial printing and publishing industries, said Mr Worts. Those establishments employed 10,832 persons—B329 men and 2503 women. Value of Output The value of the output of the printing and publishing industry was £26,178,730, and the added value, £16,729,620, he said. In producing such output, the industry had used machinery valued at more than £6 million—a fact sometimes overlooked by Government departments when the industry was seeking licences for spare and replacement parts for equipment. “We also regret that in its taxation provisions, the Government did not do more to help that very large section of the printing industry which comprises private and proprietary companies,” said Mr Worts, “More flexible and more generous provisions relating to the retention of profits, where those profits are obviously retained for the benefit of the business as a manufacturing unit, and not for the monetary aggrandisement of individual persons, are needed.

“We hope also that the Government will amend the provisions of the Land and Income Tax Act, 1954, to allow the Commissioner of Inland Revenue to take replacement cost into account as a basis for depreciation 1 rates,” Mr Worts said. “Our tax legislation in regard to 1 depreciation allowance is outdated, and completely unrealistic for a rapidlydeveloping modern industrial nation.” Licensing Schedule ITr Worts gave a “word of criticism” of the recentlyannounced import licensing schedule for the period to June 30, 1963. The federation had shown, both on its own and in association with the Paper Merchant’s Association, that by changing the basis of allocation for . fine papers in the original and supplementary 1961 schedule to one related to imports from one related to i licenses for 1960, “a very grave disservice” had been done to the printing and publishing industry. “On one hand, this action cancelled out a 10 per cent, increase which had been granted as being necessary at the end of 1960,” said Mr Worts. “We have never recovered that 10 per cent. Yet our industry, which is ; not overstocked, and which is being asked to do much to service an expanding industrial economy supported by Government policy, is to be asked to do this work on ; . only 75 per cent, of the raw j , materials it had last year— • . a year in which we had already been cut back by 10 per cent. “In addition, as a result 1 of that 1961 licence change, ■ many of our own members : who hold licences lost them, i and the rights under them, < to merchant houses to whom, i for business reasons, they i : had temporarily transferred 1 the use of their licences,” ; Mr Wort said. “We have i not forgotten that injustice.” :