Lion growls at tax

Press, 28 August 1980, Page 18

Lion growls at tax

PA Wellington Lion Breweries’ chairman (Sir Ralph Thompson) yesterday denounced what he termed the “fiscal injustice” perpetrated oh the brewing industry by the Government. '■' Speaking at the company’s annual meeting, Sir Ralph said: “For scarcely tenable sociological reasons, that industry is singled out for special (tax) treatment.” He noted that Lion last year paid $9.6 million income tax and $9l million in beer duty and sales tax.

The Government’s income tax take from Lion represented 1.5 per cent of the .total such tax paid by all companies, he said adding that the $9l million was equivalent to 6 per cent of all indirect taxation and also 1.5 per cent of total Government revenue for the. year to March 31. I

Such figures, Sir Ralph said, confirmed Lion as “the greatest New Zealand tax gatherer of all time.” He

addeid: “It does this f . for the voracious maw of the relentless and ravenous state recipient,” But his report was not all bleak;. Sir Ralph declared that despite difficult economic conditions in the. past four months, Lion’s profits “have kept up extremely well” and unless there was unexpected economic deterioration in the next eight, resists should at least match last year’s record. “I think . . . we can substantially improve even on that performance.” he said.