NEW TAX PROPOSALS “A WASTE OF TIME”

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31519, 6 November 1967, Page 26

NEW TAX PROPOSALS “A WASTE OF TIME”

(New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, November 5. The report of the Taxation Review Committee, a 220,000word document published on Friday, was tonight classed as “completely impracticable and a waste of time” by the president of the Federation of Labour (Mr T. E. Skinner), who said no Government could implement it in present economic circumstances.

The recommendations, he said, were an attack on the lower-paid wage and salary earner. It gave him a 50c family benefit “sop” which in no way compensated for a vastly increased cost of living.

was the 7 per cent increase estimated for the consumer’s price index. Such a rise, which would probably result in an actual increase in prices of about 12 per cent, would bring a rash of wage orders, giving farmers an increase in costs which they could ill afford and aggravating the balance-of-payments problem. Mr Martin said it seemed that the person hardest hit by the suggested individual tax scale was the family man with a low income.

The measures outlined in the report, he added, would result in a rise of between 12) per cent and 13 per cent in retail prices. Mr Skinner said that if the measures suggested were adopted they would cause a further deflationary spiral In the economy, depress the overseas loan market even more, and take away all incentive to exporters. “The prices of consumer goods are out of hand now," said Mr Skinner. “They can’t possibly be put up any more and this report does nothing to rectify the present situation.

Commerce, said businessmen would welcome the proposed increases in the level of income at which the maximum rate of personal tax should apply. They considered that the rate of $7200 was discouraging increased effort. The report went a long way towards reform, he added. The president of Auckland Federated Farmers, Mr W. R. Martin, said the most important effect of the proposals

“Those who can’t afford to pay, would, if this report were adopted, simply be paying for those who don’t need any assistance.” Mr R. S. Milne, president of the Auckland Chamber of