Tax Study Welcomed

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31017, 24 March 1966, Page 3

Tax Study Welcomed

(N.Z. Press Association) WELLINGTON, March 23.

“The committee set up by the Government to report on the incidence of and possible abolition of excess retention tax is warmly welcomed by industry,” said the president of the Manufacturers’ Federation (Mr J. R. Maddren).

Mr Maddren and the gene-

ral secretary of the federation (Mr A. R. Dellow) represented the federation on the deputation which met the Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake), the Minister of Finance (Mr Lake), and the Minister of Customs (Mr Shelton) yesterday, to make joint representations on taxation.

“Mr Lake informed us that the recommendation to set up this committee arose from the submission on taxation made to him recently by the Manufacturers' Federation,” said Mr Maddren.

“It is most gratifying to the federation that its repre-

sentations on this matter should produce such a quick response. “The federation considers that the whole principle of excess retention tax is wrong. It retards the growth and productivity of industry by dissipating capital needed for replacement, expansion and introduction of new technologies,” he said. “It is a discriminatory tax in that it applies only to private companies and these include many of the smaller manufacturing companies which may well become the larger companies of the future.

“Also, by applying a ‘means test’ it discriminates between private companies themselves. It rewards those which had operated right up to the limit of their financial resources and penalises those which have operated more prudently,” said Mr Maddren.