“More Collected— Without Tax Rise”

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29855, 22 June 1962, Page 3

“More Collected — Without Tax Rise”

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, June 20.

The best commendation and compliment the National Government could have was that it had collected more money in taxation than the last Labour Government — without increasing tax rates, said the Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake) tonight. The Government had collected £66 million more, he said.

Yet it achieved this with the tax rates inaugurated by the Labour Minister of Finance, Mr Nordmeyer. There had. in fact, been some reductions.

Mr Holyoake was speaking in the Address-in-Reply debate.

“The former Minister did not get the same result when he doubled the tax on beer and increased the tax on spirits and tobacco,” Mr Holyoake said. “He knocked the economy backwards when he put an

extra shilling on petrol, put up income tax one-third and increased death duties. “We haven’t knocked the economy sideways. It is still expanding and producing adequate revenue.” Mr Holyoake said the consumer price index had gone down since the Government assumed office. It had dropped from 1038. in 1960. to 1016. in 1961, and to 1013, in the year ended March 31 last.

Mr Holyoake admitted mortgage and interest rates had gone up. But the increase was barely 0.2 of 1 per cent, since 1957 which was “nothing to get excited about." Maximum bank overdraft interest rates were a fraction closer to the limit of 51 per cent, than they had been—"but the limit is still there."