Kaiapoi opposition to petrol tax

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32457, 18 November 1970, Page 14

Kaiapoi opposition to petrol tax

The basic provisions of the proposed local authorities petroleum tax bill indicated a radical departure from accepted methods of loca) body finance, without laying down any guidelines or limitations, the Town Clerk of the Kaiapoi Borough Council (Mr N. E. Clemens) said at the council's monthly meeting on Monday evening; The first step before introducing the new tax proposals would be the removal of existing price differentials for motor spirit and the establishment of uniform basic prices throughout New Zealand, said Mr Clemens. In 59 of the 109 existing retail sales areas, the imposition of the tax at the proposed maximum rate, plus the uniform petrol price, would bring about a net increase of 3c a gallon or less on current prices. In 41 areas, the net increase would be from 3.5 c to 4.5 c. In four areas, there would be no change, and in five there will be net decreases ranging up to 1.5 c a gallon. Fuels for power generation, aviation,, as well as kerosene and export products would be exempt, he said. Territorial local authorities had been divided into 21 groups, Kaiapoi being in the North Canterbury group, with the' Amuri, Cheviot, Waipara, Ashley, Rangiora, Eyre, and Oxford counties, and the Rangiora Borough. An initial meeting of all the constituent authorities would be convened by Rangiora—the authority with the largest population—to decide whether to institute a tax. The administering committee comprising one representative of each body would determine the distribution of

revenue on an annual basis, he said. Legislation directed at distribution would be on regional projects determined by a unanimous committee vote. If there were no such project, or if revenue was more than sufficient to meet the costs, the whole of the revenue or the uncommitted balance would be distributed among the local authorities in the area, according to the proportion of their total rate revenues for the previous year to the total rate revenue of all the authorities. Mr Clemens said the question of local-body finance from sources other than rates had been before local bodies for a long time and was of more particular importance in recent times of sharply increasing costs. Various schemes for collection of citizens’ taxes had been put forward without gaining favour from the Government. It was to be regretted that the present proposition had been so formulated that it had very little prospect of being successful, mainly because of the radical departure from the original concept which was to attract revenue from the section of the community which generally made little or no direct contribution. Mr Clemens said that many of the public state- , ments being made about the tax were hopelessly prejudiced, and unrealistic; the people who were prepared to 1 study the subject impartially ■ were very much a minority. Cr M. Bourne suggested > there might be provision to allow Kaiapoi, situated in a rural area, to join a more built-up area. The council I received Mr Clemens’s statement, but took no