Alternative Tax System Urged

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30095, 1 April 1963, Page 16

Alternative Tax System Urged

(New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, March 31. The Constitutional Society claims that income tax and death duties are “particularly burdensome,” and is urging the Government for an immediate inquiry to find alternative and more economical and equitable ways of collecting necessary Government revenue, the society says in a statement issued in Auckland today.

The policy committee of the society held discussions with some of the Dominion's leading authorities on economics and taxation and agreed that taxation was too high, said the statement Particularly burdensome were

income tax and death duties. Income tax was stifling incentive and was costly to collect because in addition to the cost to the Government, large numbers of taxpayers needed to engage professional services or additional staff to furnish returns of income. Death duties discouraged savings, were a brake on efficiency and "harrassed and worried” widows and next-oi-kin, said the statement. For these reasons the committee argued that both income tax and death duties should be abolished “In any case, Government expenditure could and should be pruned," says the statement. The society was convinced that the problems could be solved and it urged ti e Government to appoint a small, independent committee with powers to co-opt experts The society said its study of taxation was prompted by the knowledge that many of the most progressive nations were moving by stages from direct taxation to indirect taxation so that incentives to increase earnings were not discouraged