'Job base eroded’

Press, 12 July 1979, Page 4

'Job base eroded’

j’ - Wellington reporter The source of employment and job security in New Zealand is being eroded remorselessly, according to the executive vice-president of the Chambers of Commerce (Mr A. Simm). A state-of-business survey made by a Wellington firm for the chamber carried this message to all wage and salary earners, and to trade- . union leaders, Mr Simm said. /' Business was not asking / for a handout, but only that the effects of inflation on its activities be recognised and

that taxation was, at present, toeing calculated on fictitious profits. Mr Simm said that business was being asked to pay tax on profits which were artificially inflated through sticking to historical concepts of accounting.

The continuing deterioration in liquidity was disturbing, he said. For most companies it was now significantly less than 5 per cent of total assets, and it had become negative for private companies, wholesalers and retailers, and other services.

“Our business scene is contracting in the face of in-

flation and an inadequate cash flow,” Mr Simm said.

When this result was combined with the decline in sales growth and activitiy shown in the survey, the signs for the future boded ill. Mr Simm said the survey showed that the Government should have continued with the trading stock valuation adjustment, or an appropriate fiscal equivalent.

“I am concerned that members of the public are generally unaware of the plight of business, and that the future of their jobs may be at risk,” Mr Simm said.